The crown of the Queen
by DancingStar01
Summary: A stolen carpet leads the Team to Abu Dhabi. CHAPTER 5 ONLINE! Pairing: P/M, C/L
1. Chapter 1

Title: The Crown of the Queen  
Author: Dancing Star  
Crossover: PSI Factor / Warehouse 13  
Pairing: Connor / Lindsay, Pete / Myka  
Rating: 12  
Category: AU, Mystery, Romance  
What happens: An artifact fades Mykas memory of the warehouse. Can Pete and his new friends help?  
Notes: Inspired by many great Warehouse 13- episodes and I want to note that I haven´t watched season 5 yet. Therefore, I can only guess what happens after Season 4. :-)  
Greetings from Bavaria!

**The crown of the Queen**

"Can you please drive a little faster?", Myka asked when Pete drove the car along a snow covered road. They just came from the nearest town. It was a few days before Christmas and they were alone in the hotel because Artie, Steve, Abigail and Claudia assisted in the establishment of a Warehouse in Australia.  
Outside it was freezing, so Myka rubbed her gloved hands.  
"I´m also cold," her partner and best friend Pete replied. They drove past a car that stopped at the right side of the road. A woman and a man stood in front of the open hood and talked.  
"Who are they?", Myka asked in the moment in which they passed the car.  
"No idea. Never seen them before. Shall we stop and take them with us?"  
"No!", Myka cried, "This is the direct road to the hotel. Maybe they are on the way to us and if we have a lead, we can stop them... Whatever they want from us..."  
After another five minutes´ drive Pete stopped the car in front of Leena's Bed and Breakfast. Myka ran to the house in a hurry with a grocery bag and left Pete alone in his car. "We need to talk urgently this evening," Myka called to him. Then the door swung shut behind her.  
"Whatever you want..." The cold air winded around him and he thought of the couple who was stranded in the car on the roadside. He decided not to listen to Myka, got into the car and drove down the road again. When he saw the silver Audi, he stopped and got out.  
"Good day," he said to the two.  
"Hello. Um, our car is broken... ", the blonde woman said.  
"The belt is broken," a black-haired man informed when he looked up from the engine, "You don´t have a spare with you?"  
"No," Pete shook his head.  
"Our phones also don´t work," the woman added, "Do you have a cell phone with you?"  
"Yes, but I have something better, I can offer you," Pete said, "At the end of this road there is a hotel. I live there and you can get a accommodation for the night. In addition, there is a landline phone, which allows you to call for help."  
"Thanks, that's very nice, but we usually don´t enter a strangers car. You could be a mass murderer..."  
"What?"  
"That was a joke. But it´s unusual to offer a hotel to complete strangers in the middle of nowhere in South Dakota."  
"You're right: This sounds suspicious. Under these circumstances I also don´t want to ride with me." Pete handed her his cell phone and the woman phoned the breakdown service. But the breakdown service couldn´t be here until tomorrow afternoon, the man said on the phone.  
"I'm afraid we have to accept your offer," the blonde woman gave in, "Otherwise, we freeze to death out here in the night..." If the dark-haired man, who generously offered them help, actually was a mass murderer, they would meet their maker anyway.  
"I promise I'm not a killer," Pete raised his hand solemnly.  
"Well... Oh, that's Connor by the way, I'm Lindsay."  
"Hi, I'm Pete," they shook hands, "I suggest you lock your car and we leave it here."

Leena's hotel turned out to be a charming cottage with a huge snowy garden. "Who is Leena?", Lindsay asked as she got out of the car and Connor took her bag.  
"Leena is a friend who died a few years ago. The hotel was hers and is now under new management, but we found it was wrong to rename the house after her death." Pete led them through the ground floor and then showed them two guest rooms in the first floor. "Here are the keys... There´s no TV in the rooms unfortunately..."  
"That's fine. However, we only need one room, " Lindsay said and Pete understood immediately. Because they were still cold, they sat down next to the fireplace in the living room. The strange voices in the house lured Myka out of her room. She crept down the stairs and saw the two unknown persons who sat on a couch across from Pete and talked to him.  
Pete and the guests stopped talking when she entered the room.  
"Who is that?", asked the woman with the dark hair.  
"These are Connor and Lindsay," Pete introduced them, "And that's Myka."  
"Is she your wife?"  
"No," Pete said.  
"We hope that our presence is not a problem to you," Connor said.  
Myka smiled. But then she leaned in Pete's direction. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"  
They left the living room and stopped in front of the door.  
"What are you doing?! We have vowed that we won´t bring civilians to the hotel", Myka hissed in a whisper," Do you remember what happened when we did it the last time? Paracelsus caused a lot of problems."  
"Of course I remember," Pete agreed in a whisper. He stretched out to take a look: Connor and Lindsay were still sitting in the living room and drank tea. "But the two are harmless..."  
"That's what we thought back then, too..."  
"The two are really harmless. I feel it in my bones."  
"You better don´t say this ..."  
"Oh come on, Myka. Have a heart. The two´s car broke down and... Besides, this is a guest house... Only one night."  
"Then tell them we are fully booked."  
"But there are no cars in front of the house and except for you and me, no one else is here," Pete complained.  
"They can sleep in their car!"  
"I don´t know when you last looked out the window, but outside there is the dead of winter ..."  
Myka realized he won this time. "Fine. But tomorrow they´ll leave." She rolled her eyes and Pete clenched his fists triumphantly while he made a jubilant grimace.

They had pizza for dinner. Pete was ashamed a bit because he wasn´t able to offer nothing better than pizza to the guests, but Connor and Lindsay didn´t mind.  
"So, Connor and Lindsay," Myka began when she bit into a piece of cheese pizza, "What are you two doing for a living?"  
"We are working for an organization which investigates unexplained phenomena around the world," Connor told and Myka almost choked on her food.  
"We just returned from Africa. Supposedly all metal objects from a village are gone and frequently appeared on a hill again, "Lindsay said now and Connor noticed the look between Myka and Pete.  
"...Last year we were in the Himalayas and were looking for the Yeti," said Lindsay, "No joke, it really exists. However, on closer inspection it turned out that it was a giant ape."  
"What do you do for a living?", Connor asked now.  
"We work for the Secret Service," Pete replied promptly.  
"PETE!", Myka was horrified that he was so trusting.  
"What?", Pete didn´t understand her problem.  
"What are two Secret Service agents doing here in South Dakota?"  
Before Pete could answer, Myka intervened: "We might ask you the same: What are two people from... from ..." She had forgotten the name of their organization.  
"From the OSIR", Connor added.  
"Thank you... What are two people from OSIR doing here in South Dakota?"  
"We are actually on the way to a case to Montana. Supposedly aliens landed there", as Connor said that, Pete laughed that he had always known," But as a result of snow all flights and trains were canceled so we travel by car since Chicago. There are no flights to get. Not even in Des Moines or Sioux Falls... "  
"...Probably we'll never get there in time," Lindsay added.  
"We have told you everything", Connor said, "Now it's your turn."  
"If you are familiar with paranormal phenomena, you've surely heard about Warehouse 13."  
"PETE!", Myka was horrified.  
Connor and Lindsay looked at each other. "Yes, but we always thought that was a myth. We have tried several times to be able to visit one of the Warehouses, but our requests were always rejected."  
Pete got up from his chair and grinned. "Then today is your lucky day."

"Welcome to Warehouse 13," Peter said when he led his new friends on the balcony in front of Arties office. Connor and Lindsay were looking at a gigantic warehouse.  
"This is incredible," Connors whispered, "I thought it would be smaller."  
"How big is the Warehouse?" Lindsay asked.  
"There is growing steadily," Myka answered her question.  
"Here, all kinds of artifacts are stored. Mozart's clock, the walking stick of Nelson Mandela, the piano of Lady Gaga..."  
"Lady Gaga's piano is an artifact?", Lindsay's eyes brightened.  
"I was also very surprised," Myka agreed.  
"The piano has the power to make things appear every night... The side effect is that it causes Alzheimer's," Pete said, "We have some interesting items. If you want, I'll show you a few."  
"Sounds very interesting. Thank You!"  
Because Pete suggested it to them, the two walked down the stairs.  
"Are you crazy?!", Myka whispered.  
"I'll show them just harmless artifacts and promise we make a detour around the bronze sector." The bronze sector was a place where evil people and characters who had earned a penalty were turned into bronze figures and they were stored there, too.  
"If Artie finds out he's going to kill you," Myka said, folding her arms across the chest.  
"Yes, but you won´t tell him. I've got a premonition... ", as soon as he had said this, he went down the stairs.  
"You don´t have to act like a great host!", Myka called after him whispering and leaned over the railing.  
"You´re right."  
Myka decided she had to follow Pete before he got into something mischief.

The corridor through which they passed was bathed in warm, pleasant light. Some colorful lights danced in the air. "Don´t touch anything," Pete said as they reached a shelf where a Viking headgear, the helmet of a knight and a cowboy hat were stored.  
"And that is probably the Department of funny hats," Lindsay said, grinning.  
While Pete demonstrated Connor the effect of an artifact, Myka kept Lindsay in her eyes.  
"What´s that?", Lindsay asked. A sparkling object had caught her attention.  
"That?", Myka came to her and stopped right beside her. Lindsay leaned over to a red velvet pillow on which a crown was mounted.  
"This is the crown of the Empress Sissi. She has worn the crown when she and her husband, the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph, were crowned as King and Queen of Hungary."  
"What´s the power of this artifact?"  
"It is said that the one who wears the crown will become just as beautiful as the Empress Sissi."  
"And what about the other side?", Connor wanted to know who had heard their conversation. Myka and Lindsay turned around.  
"It's never been investigated," Myka said.  
"Really? I can´t imagine, "Connor said.  
"Well, after the Empress was murdered in 1898 in Geneva, the emperor kept some of her possessions in a chamber in the castle in Vienna. Another part was sent to Bavaria, where the family of the Empress lived... There was only one woman who has ever tried to wear the crown. She was beautiful and wrinkle-free until she got hit by a bus in the age of 70 years."  
"Very tragic," Connor said.  
"I wish I could demonstrate," Myka said.  
"Myka, you're still vain," Pete's voice was mocking, actually he didn´t mean it that way.  
"You know what?", she asked defiantly, "I will put on the crown."  
"Why? You don´t have to become prettier. You're already beautiful."  
"What?", Myka thought she had misheard.  
"Oh, nothing." Pete scratched his nose while Myka placed the crown of Sissi on her head.  
"Look, Myka. You don´t have to prove that you're just as cool as I am, "Pete said now," Put the crown back down."  
"Do you see a difference?" Myka asked.  
"Looks as if glowing snowflakes descend from the crown."  
"Really?", because Myka didn´t see the snowflakes, she placed the crown quickly back on the shelf.

When they got back to the hotel, Myka first threw a look in the mirror. She noticed the crown of the Empress already showed the effect. But Myka also wondered what the other side of the coin was.  
A knock at the door tore her out of her thoughts and she said, "Come in." Then Pete entered the room.  
"You wanted to talk to me today," he reminded her, "What is it?" He flopped down on her bed and there he jumped up and down.  
"Really?", Myka asked helplessly, "Well, I don´t know what I wanted to talk to you..."  
"It sounded important..."  
"I really don´t know," she repeated, "If I know again, I tell you, all right?"  
"All right," Pete got up and she gently smiled at him before he left her room.  
The next morning Pete asked if she now remembered while they had breakfast with their guests: "What did you want to tell me?"  
"What?", Myka asked while she bit into a bagel.  
"You told me yesterday you have to talk to me. What is it?"  
"I have no idea what you're talking about."  
"You're weird, since we are back from the city."  
"We haven´t been in the city yesterday."  
"However, we were", Pete claimed. It dawned on him what had happened when he saw Mykas puzzled face, "So this is the side effect of the crown. It deletes memories."

At lunchtime Myka had forgotten the last week, she didn´t recognize Connor and Lindsay. Instead, she spoke of Catherine, with whom she had recently moved into a hotel in Geneva. Pete didn´t know anyone named Catherine.  
After Myka had fallen asleep in the evening, Pete hurried down the stairs to the ground floor. His guests sat in the living room, staring anxiously into the fire.  
"How is Myka?", Lindsay asked, as Pete walked into the room.  
"She has forgotten the last year so far. Instead, she repeatedly speaks of someone named Rudolf. "He tried to calculate how long it would take until Myka didn´t remember to the Warehouse, but he didn´t come to a result.  
"Why don´t we ask that Artie for help?", Connor asked.  
"Because he kills me as soon as he finds out that I have led civilians into the Warehouse."  
"But yes! That's it, "Lindsay said," The crown doesn´t only delete Mykas memories: It overrides hers with the memories of the Empress Sissi" She looked into the questioning faces of the two men..  
"Rudolf was the son of the Empress," Lindsay said, "He and his partner committed suicide. That's what broke the heart of Sissi... Myka has said, Sissi was assassinated in Geneva. And she mentioned that she had moved in a hotel with a woman named Catherine... I suppose Catherine is the name of the maid... "  
Connor now got up from the couch, "I have an idea so we don´t have to ask that Artie for help: Perhaps there is an artifact that can reverse the effects of the crown," he suggested, "But where shall we look for? "  
"Once, I heard Artie talking that the diary of the Empress is also located at the Warehouse," Pete said.  
"A diary?", Lindsay asked, "How can we help Myka with a diary? The solution won´t be written down there..."  
"I know," Pete admitted, "Myka was always the wiser head of us..."  
However, they decided it was an option and so they split up: Connor scoured the database of the Warehouse, if there were other artifacts from the time of the Empress, Pete and Lindsay searched the books department for the diary of the Empress. Lindsay was on a ladder and just checked the personel notepads by Charles Dickens while she was wearing purple gloves. Pete also was on a ladder and searched boxes, but on the bookshelf in the next corridor.  
"May I ask you a question?", Pete suddenly asked, but he wouldn´t let her the opportunity to respond, "Are you and Connor a couple?"  
Lindsay's brow furrowed.  
"Sorry, I didn´t want to offend you..." He was sorry that he was going like a bull at the gate.  
"Was that the question you wanted to ask?"  
"No," Pete replied sheepishly, like a boy who had done something, "I don´t know how to say..."  
"Pete Lattimer!", Lindsay said, "Are you secretly in love with your colleague?" Her face lit up when Pete put a box on the shelf with a shrug. "I am honored that you just asked me for advice," she put a hand on her heart, "Does Myka know?"  
"Well, I don´t know how..."  
"Don´t worry, my friend. When the time comes, you will know how to confess her", Lindsay said," I don´t know you for a long time, but I think you're a great guy."  
"Thank you." Pete reached for the next box and pulled it off the shelf. "I've got it!", he exclaimed, "I have found the diary of the Empress!"

They met in Arties office and leafed through the diary of the Empress. "I'm done," Connor, who had read the book first, said. They had previously found out that there were no other artifacts of the Empress in the Warehouse except the diary. And there were no artifacts that had once been owned by a relative. So there was nothing except the book, which could help them.  
"Towards the end of her life, the Empress was pretty depressed. It was told she several times had thought of drowning herself in Lake Starnberg, just like her cousin Ludwig II had done", Connor put the book aside.  
"Man, the guy had everything. Lived fame on Neuschwanstein castle and he was still absolutely miserable..." Suddenly it dawned on Pete, "Are you saying, Myka now has thoughts of suicide?" When he realized they had left Myka alone, he decided he had to return immediately to the hotel.

"Myka?", Pete cried and hurried with long steps up the stairs. He opened the door to the room of his partner and noted that her bed was empty. She also wasn´t next door in the bathroom. Pete went through every room in the floor. Then he went downstairs.  
"Myka isn´t here," he sounded worried.  
"She left the house," Lindsay said.  
"I know that too!"  
"She has left a trail," Lindsay pointed to a trace of fine, sparkling snowflakes, which lay on the carpet that led to the front door.  
"The Crown. Myka has taken the crown from the Warehouse."  
They grabbed their jackets and some flashlights. Before Pete left the house, he grabbed purple gloves and a bag then he ran outside. "Myka!", Pete exclaimed.  
"Connor and I are going in that direction," Lindsay suggested.  
"All Right. I´ll take this direction."  
It was cold. They had to find Myka. Lindsay now understood why the only woman who had dared to wear Sissi's crown, was hit by a bus: Maybe the woman´s memories were overwritten and she couldn´t remember that large vehicles represented a danger to pedestrians.  
Lindsay's was worried and her foot broke through the iced cover of a cold puddle of water, while the beam of her flashlight flickered across the floor. She hoped that Myka hadn´t fallen and lay unconscious on the floor. At these temperatures, she wouldn´t survive long.  
"Anything?", Connor asked.  
"No," Lindsay shook his head, "Let's keep looking."

"Myka!...", Pete's breath formed little clouds in the air, "Myka!" The beam of his flashlight flickered through the forest, but didn´t caught more than drought and branches and snowflakes falling from the sky. "Myka!"  
But then a voice answered: "Pete!"  
He ran as fast as he could in the direction from which the voice had come. His light cone finally touched a figure which stood with its feet in a puddle.  
"Myka, is that you?"  
"Yes," her voice trembled, "What am I doing here?"  
Pete realized that this was a clear moment, Myka experienced and wasn´t to blame to the memories of the Empress Sissi.  
"You have the crown."  
"No, I don´t. It´s at the Warehouse. "  
"It's on your head, Myka."  
"What?", Myka now noticed the heavy weight on her head, "I have not taken the crown. I swear it."  
"I know you probably don´t remember," he took a step toward her, "Give me the crown."  
"Pete, help me," she pleaded.  
"I try. Give me the crown, Myka." He reached her and stretched out his hand to her. Myka took the hand and overcame the final distance between them. Pete felt how cold she was. She just had left the house with the crown, without getting dressed in something warm.  
"Pete, I...", Tears welled up in her eyes, "I think the artifact changed me. I feel that something is not right..."  
"The artifact will overwrite your memories with those of the Empress Sissi."  
"That means, I´ll forget the Warehouse and all the people who work there?"  
Pete didn´t like to have to agree with her, so he said nothing. But Myka knew him too well: She knew what that meant.  
"I won´t forget everything," her forehead leaning against his, "I love you, Pete." With her hand on his neck she pulled him close and kissed him deeply.  
Pete took the opportunity and took the crown from her. At that moment, a strong pain sensed her head. Her cries lured Lindsay and Connor.  
Pete put the crown in a bag, which immediately sparked. Lindsay took the bag when Myka swayed and so she didn´t fall into the puddle of water, Pete caught her. She was unconscious, so he carried Myka back to the hotel. There, he laid her on the couch.  
Myka was almost unconscious for half an hour until she finally opened her eyes. Her head still ached.  
"Are you alright?", Lindsay asked, "What do you remember?"  
"I have placed the crown on my head and there was a light... I think I've been looking for someone who's name is Catherine... And then I only remember a conversation with Pete... We were standing in the woods and it was pretty dark... "As she said this, she looked at him. That meant she also remembered the kiss.  
"Shall we call a doctor?", Connor suggested.  
"No, I'm fine. I could use a nap, "Myka agreed. They helped her getting up but left it to Pete, to bring Myka in her room. "Are you sure you don´t need a doctor?", he asked anxiously.  
"Sure," she murmured, "Because of the snowstormnobody comes here..." She just needed a warm bed and sleep.  
After Pete had convinced himself that Myka actually slept, he went to the Warehouse with Connor and Lindsay to bring the crown back to its place.

The next morning, Myka felt much better. Her memories of the Warehouse and the last years have been almost completely restored.  
She found Pete in his room and didn´t believe what she saw: He cleaned up. He just put T-shirts in the drawer of a dresser when he noticed her. "Hi," she smiled.  
"Hi," he said.  
Now she also leaned on the dresser and looked at him. "Thank you for saving me from the crown," she said, noting how strange it sounded. Then she remembered something: "As far as I remember, I wanted to tell you something before it all happened."  
"Right," Pete nodded. He was excited and at the same time very surprised when Myka slid to the right so she stood with her back to the dresser and directly in front of him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. Myka smiled in relief when he returned the kiss and she felt his hands on her hips. She couldn´t hold it any longer, but still managed to step back with the last spark of sanity.  
"This is the last night in which we´re alone in the house," she said, "Tomorrow, Artie and the others return from Australia again... I guess you know what that means?"  
"Is that what you wanted to tell me?"  
"No," Myka agreed, "I just wonder when we tell them. I can´t believe they haven´t noticed yet."  
"Yes, I can't wait to see Claudia's face." Pete and Myka laughed. Just like Pete, she was tired of the secret. They kept it for two years.  
"It will change everything. We can stay in the same room...", she suggested, "And our game of hiding." Whenever they were on a mission, they booked two hotel rooms, but they always used just one. "It is high time, you know?", Myka asked, "I can´t hide for long."  
"Yeah, me neither."  
"I don´t think we are talking about the same thing."  
Pete looked at her puzzled, when she slapped her hands to her face and then again put her arms around his neck. "I am pregnant... Finally." When she learned two years ago she had cancer, all her plans smashed because she had always comforted herself with the fact she had plenty of time to have children. Suddenly she realized her wish would always remain a wish and she realized how much she wanted to start a family with Pete. When she learned what he had done to save her from her disease, the scales fell from her eyes. She loved him. She had never met such a sincere man who would do everything to save her. Since then, they were a couple, but no one knew about it. Of course it was hard to act like nothing has happened and Pete was sure that Steve already had an idea.  
"It´s... It´s..."  
"It's a miracle."  
Pete picked her up and hugged her. When he let her down again, he apologized.  
"It's all right, the baby is fine. I am in the seventh week and I know it since our last visit to the city. I secretly saw the doctor..."  
"My God, that's great... Myka, It´s a super- Christmas gift."  
"Yes. Actually I wanted to give you a space ship so you can return to your home planet but this is much better... Do you want a boy or girl?"  
"Doesn´t matter as long as the baby is healthy."  
Myka laughed, before they kissed again.  
"Pete, I have found the scissors you're looking for, but...", Lindsay appeared in the doorway of his room and when she realized in what situation she had disturbed them, she quickly apologized and walked away.

Connor and Lindsay said goodbye to them the next morning. Pete and Myka stood in front of the guest house and waved to them, when the silver Audi drove away. It snowed a little.  
"Now there are only a couple of hours," Myka said as she hung up at Pete, "How do we tell the others?"  
"I've played through every possible scenario..."  
"Yeah, me too." She leaned her head on his shoulder, "Let's go inside. It's cold."  
Pete agreed and so they returned to the house where they were waiting for Artie, Abigail, Steve and Claudia.

_When your legs do not work like They used to before _  
_ And I can´t sweep you off of your feet _  
_ Will your mouth still remember the taste of my love _  
_ Will your eyes shut smile from your cheeks _

_ And darling I will be loving you 'til we're 70 _  
_ And baby my heart Could quietly falling as hard at 23 _  
_ And I'm thinking 'bout how people fall in love in mysterious ways _  
_ Maybe just the touch of a hand _  
_ Oh me I fall in love with you every single day _  
_ And I just wanna tell you I am _

_ So honey now _  
_ Take me into your loving arms _  
_ Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars _  
_ Place your head on my beating heart _  
_ I'm thinking out loud _  
_ Maybe we found love right where we are _ ("Thinking out loud" by Ed Sheeran)

"How did it go last week?", Artie asked, "I hope my warehouse still stands."  
"Yes," Pete and Myka answered. Claudia made a joke about the two and then complimented Myka about her hair.  
"But that's not the only news," Myka finally said, she decided to put their friends no longer on the rack, "We..."  
"…Got a new job," Artie said, "We need to find a list of artifacts. The problem with this artifacts is, that it´s a kind of scavenger hunt. "  
"That means, we learn about the next searched artifact, if we found the first one," Steve said.  
They were interrupted by a knock and when they turned around they saw a blonde woman and a dark-haired man standing in the doorway. "Sorry for the disturbance," Connor said.  
"Who are you? And how did you get in here?", Artie asked.  
"Artie, these are Connor and Lindsay. Myka and I are their friends... "  
"We were fired because we didn´t reach Montana in time," Lindsay told.

To be continued...


	2. Chapter 2

Title: The Search  
Author: Dancing Star  
Crossover: PSI Factor / Warehouse 13  
Pairing: Connor / Lindsay, Pete / Myka  
Rating: 12  
Category: AU, Mystery, Romance  
What happens: The artifact- hunt is on.  
Notes: Inspired by many great Warehouse 13- episodes and I want to note that I haven´t watched season 5 so far. I can only guess what happened after Season 4. :-)

**The Search**

"A list of artifacts? Where does this job come from?"  
"Directly from the Regents," Artie replied, "We have to catch the artifacts."  
"Why is it so important that we find a number of artifacts?", Myka crossed her arms in front of her chest,  
"They could end up in wrong hands," Artie was very serious, "These artifacts are able to destroy the entire planet. We have to find, neutralize and store them in the warehouse."  
"What about us?", Lindsay suddenly asked, "We have lost our jobs because of this after all."  
"Actually, not quite right," Connor improved his girlfriend, "We have lost our jobs because of a breakdown."  
"Artie, the two are okay," Pete assured him.  
"He's telling the truth," Steve confirmed in a hurry.  
"All right," Artie muttered, "I'm going to talk to the Regents." He looked at Connor and Lindsay. "The Regents will decide whether you are okay and what will happen to you."  
"What does that mean?", Lindsay had a bad feeling.  
"I talk to them, okay ?!", Artie was irritated, "That's the last thing I can do for you... And best you all now start looking for the artifacts. The first item on our list is _the feather of the snowy owl_. We´ll learn what´s the next artifact as soon as we have the feather."  
Claudia suggested to go to the warehouse. There they could find out on the computer, what exactly _the feather of the snowy owl_ was and what its capabilities were. Because Claudia decided to take Connor and Lindsay to the warehouse, Pete and Myka stayed with Artie.  
"What does that mean?", Myka asked.  
"What?"  
"Artie, you have just said that it's the last thing you can do for Connor and Lindsay."  
"You don´t have an artifact which takes the two directly to the North Pole, right?", Pete asked.  
"No," Artie sat down, "The Regents decided that I am going to Australia permanently. They want to establish a warehouse on every continent."  
"What? But... ", Myka stammered," What will happen to our warehouse?"  
"Well, the Regents have to find a solution... Come on, start looking for the feather." Artie got up and went out. Pete and Myka were left behind. They both didn´t know what to think. What would that mean for their team, their family?

"_The feather of the snowy owl_. What could it be?". Claudia's fingers chopped on the keyboard of her computer and it didn´t take long until the software had a result. "Bingo, there is it: The feather belongs to an owl which appeared in Harry Potter films... I can´t believe this is an artifact. And we also have the feather at the warehouse."  
"I'll send Connor off so he gets the item," Lindsay said. She and Claudia read on the screen, what skills the feather possessed.  
When Connor put _the feather of the snowy owl_ on the desk, he asked what he should fetch next from the warehouse. He then sat down on the old couch.  
"Artie, we have the feather!", Claudia yelleld and Lindsay, who still sat beside her, feared a sudden hearing loss.  
"Here is the next item on our list," Artie, who came through the door out of nowhere, said, "This time it won´t be so easy..."  
Pete and Myka also came in.  
"Why, what is it?", Steve asked when Claudia took the note.  
"_The Star of space_," Claudia read aloud, "What is it?"  
"Maybe the football, which was taken to ISS in 2014 by a German astronaut," Pete suggested and because he just met an incredulous look, he went away.  
"Wait a minute," Steve interrupted, "I've heard that the NASA employees store moonstones, which are called _Star of space_, in the Mission Control Center in Houston."  
"Wonderful," Lindsay was in optimism, "Connor and I´ll travel to Houston and get the moonstone. If we have the artifact, we will find out what´s the next item on the list."  
"Hey wait a minute," Artie interrupted her, "Who actually invited you to the party?"  
"It doesn´t matter now," Connor said, "This is the only place that has occurred to us when we were fired. We wanted to help and..."  
"All right, Artie doesn´t like discussions," Pete said, "This is my Tesla and my Farnsworth." He handed them devices that looked like a gun and a remote control with a lid. Myka gave them a bag. "You will need that to contact us. The Tesla is a kind of ray gun." While Pete said this, he waved his hands.  
"All right," Lindsay decided, "We'll call you as soon as we have the artifact."

The flights in the southern United States weren´t deleted fortunately: When Lindsay glanced at the table with the start times at the airport she saw that all flights to Montana were still canceled. She thought of her former colleagues from OSIR. She and Connor would have to find a solution, because that they flew to Houston for Artie, was certainly only a pastime Entertainment.  
After she and Connor landed in Houston hours later, they went to the NASA Mission Control Center. Obviously, the OSIR hadn´t declared their IDs to be invalid yet: When they put them on the scanner, a green light flashed, which symbolized they had access to the system.  
"We would like to see the moonstones," Lindsay told the security guard, "For Scientific reasons... How to get to the moonstone?"  
The man in uniform looked at her suspiciously, but showed them on a map, where they found the laboratory where the moonstones were stored and analyzed.  
When they arrived in the laboratory, there was utter chaos there: Pieces of paper flew through the air, lightnings flashed and some of the scientists searched frantically for protection under tables.  
"What's going on here?", Lindsay asked. She was sure an artifact was to blame.  
"I'm sure this was already happening before we showed up here," Connor called out to her as he took her hand and pulled her behind a shelf. A flash of light missed them.  
"Where is the moonstone?"  
They peered around the shelf and saw gray rocks which were stored in a kind of glass container in the middle of the room. "We have to get the stone...", Connor said, "But how?" He tried to imagine what Pete and Myka would do.  
Finally, he reached for his weapon and the Tesla. He walked up to the glass container and aimed the Tesla on the flashes. "Don´t do that," Lindsay stopped him. They were almost hit by a lightning. "If you shoot the lightning with your Tesla that could overload the energy core of the weapon!", she yelled.  
They crawled to the moonstone and when they reached it, Connor pointed the weapon at the glass container. Connor and Lindsay had expected bulletproof glass, but the bullet passed through the reservoir without any problems. Connor reached into the hole, took the moonstone and then threw it in the bag Neutralizer - how Pete and Myka had advised them. They tried to protect their eyes from sparks, but nothing happened.  
"It´s not the Moonstone," Connor said, looking at Lindsay horrified, "The artifact has to be something else."  
"But what?", Lindsay asked what was so special that it was associated with the moon landing. Another lightning almost hit them.  
Lindsay looked around and tried to find out if there was an item that didn´t fit into the scenery of a laboratory. Then she saw it. "Many people don´t know that the President prepared a kind of emergency speech if Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin had failed to return from the moon in 1969," she said while she crawled on the floor and discovered a display case, which stood on the wall.  
"Connor, can you lend me your penknife?", she asked. Connor fumbled in his pocket and handed her his pocketknife. She used the screwdriver to dissolve the screws which held the hinges.  
"Why don´t we do it in the fast way?", Connor asked. A flash missed his head.  
Lindsay rolled her eyes. When the screws were solved, it was easy to open the door. Lindsay reached out and grabbed a stack of paper, which was now yellowed. "What if this is not the original document?", Connor asked.  
His concern was unnecessary, when Lindsay put the document in the Neutralizer – bag, which sparked. The flashes in the room immediately disappeared and the wind which swirled through each laboratory was gone.

They used the Farnsworth to report to the warehouse. Pete and Myka answered their call and apparently they were in the warehouse, because Lindsay could see Artie's office door in the background.  
"We have the artifact," Lindsay announced and showed them a bag in which a rolled up piece of paper lay. "Contrary to expectations, this´s not a moonstone, but the emergency speech which was written by the President in 1969 if the moon landing was a problem."  
"Excellent," Myka answered via Farnsworth, "We have just learned what the next item on the list is."  
"Maybe Arties eyebrows are artifacts," Lindsay laughed.  
"No," Myka said and showed them the list. On the piece of paper, a new item was published.  
"The next artifact is...", Lindsay stopped because she wasn´t sure if she had read correctly, "The next artifact is the original videotape of an Alien autopsy."  
"Roswell," Connor added, "Lindsay and I can travel to Roswell. It´s located on the way to South Dakota."  
"Steve and I can do," Claudia complained.  
"Connor and Lindsay will do that," Pete decided, "Roswell is located on the way." Pete ended the conversation via the Farnsworth. He and Myka got up and left Artie's office.  
"What's the matter with you?", Claudia called after them. She saw that her friends stopped immediately and exchanged a wary glance.  
"Claudia, the Regents decided that Artie has to take care of the warehouse in Australia," Pete replied.  
"What?... What will become of us?"  
"We don´t know yet. We hope everything will be fine ... But maybe we should get used the thought we might have nothing to do with the warehouse soon."  
"Yes," Myka agreed, "We still don´t know how to proceed, but Pete is right. Maybe we have to let go... Now let's move on."

"I hate aliens," Connor announced late in the evening when he and Lindsay arrived at the warehouse and gave the videotape and the President's speech to Artie.  
"Why? What happened?"  
"Let´s say: Connor took an involuntary bath in a rain barrel in front of the Roswell- Museum. He got scared because of a child who has visited the museum with its parents and was dressed as an alien."  
Pete and Myka laughed.  
"What?", Connor asked, "The little girl looked deceptively real!"  
While they laughed, Artie got the video tape and the president's speech from their Neutralizer- bags and put them on the list.  
"What's the next artifact on the list?", Lindsay sat down in the chair next to Artie.  
Now, another item had appeared.  
"A piece of the World Trade Center in New York?", Claudia asked, "This should be a joke."  
"This is a job for you and Steve," Artie decided.

During the flight to New York City, Claudia researched on the internet where to get a remnant of the former World Trade Center. "I'm sure we need a special piece," Steve said to her, seeing what she was working on a laptop, "Maybe you can find something about a piece of rock, which has exceptional skills on the internet."  
"Good idea," Claudia admitted. In fact, she found something, when she hacked into the database of city government. "It says an employee of the fire department has stolen a part of a marble slab, which belonged to the World Trade Center and was exhibited in a museum near Ground Zero."  
"Can you find out where the firefighter is staying now?", Steve asked.  
"Wait a minute...", Claudia's fingers tapped on the keyboard and Steve watched how she crept into the police database. "They say he has left the city, heading north."  
"Then we never get him", Steve suspected.  
"Don´t say this..."

They had landed and rented a car when Claudia rummaged in her bag. "What are you looking for?", Steve started the engine of the black BMW.  
"Ian Flemming's belt." She went on. "It's an artifact. The belt will take us to any place we want."  
"The creator of James Bond was in possession of an artifact?"  
"Yes. I borrowed it. Artie don´t has to know", Claudia pulled out a black leather belt from her bag, held it with both hands and focused on northern New York State. There, the fireman was traveling, which the marble plate had been stolen. She imagined the getaway vehicle.  
"Claudia?", Steve asked, "Claudia, open your eyes."  
She did what he said and was surprised: They were no longer at the Newark airport. Their hired car stood on a lonely road. "There's a car coming," Steve said. It was a red Pick Up. "This is the car of the fireman!", Claudia said. She knew the description of the vehicle from the police database.  
Steve thought for a moment, what they should do. The other vehicle was coming closer and because Steve blocked the road with the BWM, the driver had to stop. "What are you doing?", he asked angrily as he got out, because obviously there was no reason why the BMW stood across the street.  
"We almost run over a deer and our car is skidding...", Steve lied, as he got out. Suddenly he and Claudia had to hide, because the angry fireman had turned into a figure of flames.  
"So this is it?", Claudia asked, "The marble slab transforms the owner into the Human Torch?" A strange sound came to her ear and Claudia pulled her Farnsworth from her jacket pocket. It was Myka who asked if they had arrived in New York. "How's it going?", Myka asked via Farnsworth.  
"Good. Excellent", Claudia lied, "What about you?" She heard heavy footsteps, which came from the other side of the car. A strong wind carried ash particles in the air.  
"We are almost there...", Claudia added, "Uh, Steve and I are a bit busy at the moment. I'll call you back." With these words, Claudia closed her Farnsworth. She could feel the fire on her skin, which caused the Human Torch.  
"I have an idea," Steve declared, who now crawled to the trunk, opened it and took out a portable fire extinguisher. He crawled back to Claudia and sat down beside her. When the fireman had walked around the car, he unlocked the fire extinguisher, aimed and bathed the Human Torch in a cloud of foam. It took a minute until the fire extinguisher was empty and when the cloud dissipated, a motionless, stone shape remained. The body fell to the ground and shattered into many pieces.  
"The marble slab!", Claudia said. She hurried to the Pick Up of the fireman and opened the passenger door. Before she reached for the marble plate, containing a part of the address of the former World Trade Center, she put on purple gloves. Then she put the plate in a Neutralizer - bag.

"We got the artifact," Claudia said when she and Steve opened the main door to the hotel and came in. The red-haired woman put a piece of marble on the table. Artie grabbed it and put it on the list. All warehouse agents gathered around Artie and peered over his shoulder.  
"What is the next subject?", Steve asked. The words appeared on the paper.  
"The next artifact is really harmless," Lindsay said. "It´s _True Love's Kiss_."  
"Didn´t know it´s an artifact," Claudia said, "How does it look like?"  
"It´s a very powerful artifact," Artie explained to them, "At the same time, it seems very arbitrary and there are only certain people who can summon it. It´s also the only artifact that shouldn´t be neutralized. The people who neutralize it would otherwise hate each other for all eternity."  
"So that's it," Connor said, "The end of our scavenger hunt... How do we find the artifact, if we don´t even know if it appears in this century?"  
While Connor discussed with Artie, Pete stood beside Myka. "Did you know we have a pool in the basement?", he whispered, looking in Mykas eyes she didn´t believe him. So he took her hand and led her out of the living room. Previously, he made sure no one would notice them.  
Indeed, there was a swimming pool in the basement. It was dark, so Pete operated the light switch. The water surface was completely silent. "We need to talk, Myka," Pete suddenly began and his face was deadly serious.  
"Is everything all right?", She was worried. Normally, he was always joking.  
"Well, I thought...", he didn´t know what to say, "Because you give birth to our child in eight months,..."  
"What's the matter with you?", Myka didn´t understand a word. She saw how Pete reached into his pocket and when he pulled his hand, she heard him curse: A soft tinkling sound turned his attention to the water surface, which has now been rocked by small waves.  
"No!"  
"Pete?", Myka asked worriedly when he jumped into the water. She quickly came to the edge of the pool and watched as he picked up something from the floor and then returned to the water surface.  
"Pete, what are you doing?"  
"I've lost something. Sorry," he climbed out of the water, but he didn´t get up. Instead, he knelt before her and took her hand, "So, the problem is that the baby and you aren´t protected if something should happen to me during work in the warehouse..."  
Myka felt as if her heart skip a beat. She shouldn´t believe that he only did this because of the baby. Pete thought it was time to grow up.  
"Myka Ophelia Bering, I love you. I can´t imagine a life without you and ask you if you want to be with me forever together..."  
"Yes. My God, yes!"  
He got up, pulled her to him and kissed her. Pete's left hand was on her neck and he held hers with his right hand. Their hands became warmer, almost hot, and when they finished the kiss, she saw she held a glowing stone in her hand.  
"What is it?", Pete asked.  
"That must be the artifact... It looks completely different than I thought..."  
Pete now noticed they were both wearing wet clothes. "We should put on something dry," he suggested, Myka agreed. Before they left the pool, he held her and put the ring on her finger.

Claudia registered from the corner of her eye that Pete and Myka were in a hurry to get to their rooms. Two minutes later they returned to the living room in other clothes.  
"What happened?", Lindsay asked.  
"We have a swimming pool in the basement. Did you know?", Pete replied.  
"Artie, I think Pete and I have found the artifact."  
"_True Love's Kiss_?", Claudia asked. They were all excited to see the artifact and were almost a little disappointed that it was only an amber colored, heart shaped lump.  
"What should we do with it?", Myka asked.  
"Keep it." Artie didn´t want to take the artifact. But then a question burned on his soul. "Wait, where did you get that?"  
"It appeared in our hands, when Pete and I have kissed after he proposed to me..."  
"What?!", Claudia screamed. Now she saw the ring on Mykas hand. "I knew there's something going on!"  
"You knew about this?"  
"I'm not blind," Claudia said.  
"Who else knew?", Pete asked, but Artie and Steve shook their heads.  
"This is not the only news," Myka said, "We wanted to tell you much earlier, but had no chance. Pete and I will have a baby."  
Claudia screamed "Congratulations", jumped happily and hugged Myka.  
"We didn´t know that you two...", Artie seemed a little taken aback, but then focused, "Keep the artifact and never neutralize it, do you hear?"  
Pete and Myka nodded. Claudia had another question: "Now that we have collected all artifacts on the list... What will happen to them?"  
"Maybe it´s split artifact", Connor suspected and for a brief moment Myka was curious: Obviously, Connor and Lindsay had read the warehouse- manual.  
"So? What have a feather, a speech by the President, a videotape, a stone and another stone in common?," Claudia leaned back and the chair on which she sat groaned. "I know!", she suddenly cried, "The feather symbolizes magic, the speech symbolizes hope, the videotape is for things that are out of this world, _True Love´s Kiss_ symbolizes the things we can´t see and the stone from the World Trade Center is the evil in the world. "  
After Claudia had finished her explanation, they became silent for a moment.  
"Sorry, I don´t understand," Pete said.  
"While you´re talking about the artifacts, I ´ll take them to the warehouse," Artie decided. He was hardly gone, when an earthquake shook the house: Pictures fell from the wall, flower pots and shelves overturned. Pete tore Myka to the side in the last moment, because she stood in front of a heavy wooden cabinet, which overturned. "Are you okay?", he asked, Myka nodded.  
"What was that?", Lindsay asked, "Are there often earthquakes in this area?"  
"Not really...", Myka said then it dawned on her, "Artie!"  
Claudia, Connor, Lindsay, Pete and Myka rushed with Steve to the front door of the hotel. They could see a figure lying on the stairs. "Artie!", Claudia raised Artie's head while he now came to consciousness. "Artie, what happened?"  
"I'm not sure...", he muttered, "I left the house and three seconds later I was attacked by someone..."  
"Did you see who it was?"  
"No." Artie grabbed his leather bag and opened it. "The artifacts... They 're gone."

In the afternoon a lump had formed at the backside of Artie's head, he cooled it with an ice pack. Myka and Claudia wondered who could benefit from it, to collect a number of artifacts, which was very important for the Regents. To Myka and Claudia, it was clear that the combination of the artifacts had to unleash an incredible power.  
"If it is a split artifact, might the thought calms you that Pete and Myka own a part of it," Steve assured her.  
A person entered the living room and took off a thick winter jacket. "I was just at the mailbox," Lindsay announced while holding an envelope in her hands, "This is your utility billing. You have to pay extra $ 5,000. Can you tell me what you heated? Buckingham Palace?"  
Artie raised an eyebrow.  
"The Warehouse. I see,", Lindsay decided to put the letter in his office. Then she sat down next to Connor, Pete and Myka on the couch. "Artie, when will we finally learn what the Regents decided about Connor and me?"  
"I would prefer, we learn what will become of us and the warehouse," Claudia said and when she noticed the strange look of Lindsay, she added an "excuse".  
"I think I can answer your questions," a new voice suddenly said. They all got up from the couch, because none of them had heard the dark-skinned woman coming in.  
"Mrs. Frederic!"  
"How did you...?", Connor realized that he better resisted his question.  
"Doesn´t matter," the woman said.  
"Who are you?", Lindsay asked.  
"That isn´t important. But I know very well who you are, Miss Lindsay Donner, "she gestured to the couch. "Sit down."  
Lindsay and Connor did what the woman wanted.  
"The Regents inquired about you very carefully," Mrs. Frederic told, "You will stay at the warehouse and assist Miss Bering and Mister Lattimer in categorization of artifacts."  
"Mrs. F, there's still something we want to talk about, " Claudia interjected.  
"I know. The Regents also found a solution for that problem: They understand you don´t want Agent Nielsen to leave, but it´s an irreversible decision. Agent Nielsen will go to Australia. In two days."  
Pete, Myka, Claudia and Steve were upset.  
"Agent Bering, you have an eye for detail and you get to the bottom of things," Mrs. Frederic said to Myka then she turned to Pete: "You are superficial, erratic and intuitive..."  
"Artie already noticed when we first met." He didn´t feel flattered that Mrs. Frederic was recounting his worst qualities.  
"...You also a very loyal person. You have shown responsibility. The Regents are really impressed. You and Agent Bering will keep an eye on the warehouse. The regents are convinced you can handle this."  
"Mrs. Frederic, we can´t, we ... "  
"The Regents are convinced you both can handle that." Mrs. Frederic got up from the chair in which she sat. Before she left the house, she stopped on the threshold and turned to face them. "By the way, congratulations. The Regents wish you and your child all the best."  
While they were wondering how Mrs. Frederic and the Regents knew about it, the woman was already gone.  
Myka grabbed Pete's hand and held it. She wondered if they would really succeed, but Mrs. Frederic was right: He was grown up. At first it was just little things she noticed: When Pete asked her for the first time for a real date years ago, she had thought he would take her to dinner at McDonalds, but instead they visited a fancy restaurant and Myka was impressed. He also didn´t flirt with other women but his jokes remained the same.  
They were all silent for a moment, wondering secretly if Artie knew that he had to travel to Australia so quickly. And that Pete and Myka were responsible for supervising the warehouse when Artie had to leave for a long time.  
"It's an odd feeling," Myka suddenly said, "I thought we would get married when our family is there... And now Artie travels to Australia." She felt a little sick.  
"I have a wonderful idea," Claudia announced, "As a Christmas gift I present to you _three nuts of Cinderella_, stored in the warehouse. You could use one of them to wish you a wedding dress. "And the other nuts assured her and Lindsay a fancy dress.  
"I thought, Cinderella is a fairy tale," Lindsay was confused.  
"It is. Many artifacts were born in magical moments. Anyway... It would be THE opportunity... Unless, you don´t want to get married so quickly."  
"Well... That would be great ... I've always wanted a snow wedding...", Myka said, looking at Pete.  
"Yes, that's a good idea."  
"Perfect!", Claudia laughed, "I'll get the artifact and Connor and Lindsay take care of everything else."

As a small child is Myka had often dreamed about her wedding.  
Since yesterday night it snowed non-stop and the frost hung from the roof in icicles. Today was also the day before Christmas.  
Myka was nervous when Lindsay took care of her hair. "Claudia, are my parents already there?", she asked. Her mother was almost in panic when Myka called last night and asked her to come to South Dakota with her family because she and Pete had spontaneously decided to get married.  
"Yes, your parents are there and your sister with her husband and her child." It was a small wedding, a total of 14 people.  
Claudia was still a little pissed because thanks to the nuts for Cinderella she, Abigail and Lindsay were wearing rose-colored silk dresses. And Claudia hated rose- colored dresses. Apparently Myka had wished that the dress of the bridesmaids fit to the strapless wedding dress with ruffled skirt and rose-colored silk belt.  
They were finished at the agreed time and Myka saw Pete was holding his breath when she entered the decorated winter garden in her wedding dress. He whispered to her how beautiful she looked, when he took her hand.  
"You are not allowed to see the bride before the wedding. What church did you pick?", Mykas sister asked then.  
"The wedding will take place here," Lindsay replied, who was standing next to Myka with Claudia and Abigail. Connor, Steve and Artie had now lined up next to Pete. The setting was perfect. Abigail had decorated the winter garden so it looked like a beautiful snowscape.  
"Yes, but... You don´t have a priest."  
"I think I can help you," a woman's voice said. Mrs. Frederic had appeared before them and a gentle smile was on her face. It was a favor she had to give Artie when she sent him to Australia.  
"Then let's begin. We don´t have time."  
Pete still held Mykas hand, when they walked down the aisle. Mrs. Frederic gave a short speech before she asked Pete and Myka, if they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together.  
Pete and Myka exchanged rings and finally Mrs. Frederic declared them to husband and wife.  
It was a wonderful day, although it was different from the wedding, Myka had dreamed of when she was as a little girl. It was still very nice.

To be continued...


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Fire  
Author: Dancing Star  
Crossover: PSI Factor / Warehouse 13  
Pairing: Connor/ Lindsay, Pete/ Myka  
Rating: 12  
Category: AU, Mystery, Romance  
Content:  
Notes: Inspired by many great Warehouse 13- episodes and I want to note that I haven´t watched season 5 so far. Therefore, I can only guess what happened after Season 4. :-)

**Fire **

A low hum beside her head woke Myka from her sleep. First she saw the red letters on the digital alarm clock beside her then she felt the warm blanket, which embraced her body. She turned around and noticed that the bed next to her was empty.  
"Pete?", She asked, sitting up. Her eyes took a moment to get used to the darkness. She swung her legs out of bed and managed to get up. The weight of her belly had become more and more in recent months, but she liked being pregnant.  
Mykas shoes caused a shuffling noise on the wooden floor. She pressed the light switch and slowly walked down the stairs to the ground floor. There she entered the living room. The room was in darkness, but Pete Connor, Lindsay, Claudia and Steve watched a horror movie.  
"Hey, what are you watching?", Myka asked, in this moment, everybody shrugged.  
"You scared us," Lindsay stated, while Pete made room on the couch for Myka.  
"Why didn´t you wake me up?", she asked.  
"I did, but you slept very tight so I thought it would be better not to wake you," Pete said. On television, Keri Russell just entered a dark room where a tall, skinny alien was standing in front of a child's bed. Keri Russell screamed.  
"How can you watch that?", Myka asked blankly, took a piece of cheese pizza from Pete´s plate and took a bite. "Smells terrible," she said. Her body went crazy since she was pregnant: She cried in the most unlikely moments, and shortly afterwards she laughed again. At the beginning of the pregnancy, she suffered from hair loss. She had developed an aversion to the smell of flowers and even the cheese on her favorite pizza smelled terrible.  
"The weird thing about this film is," Connor said, "That this actually took place."  
"Hard to believe," Claudia murmured. Some month ago, Connor and Lindsay had told many stories about their former profession. A few stories sounded so incredible that even the warehouse agents thought it was untrue. Then Pete, Myka, Claudia and Steve had to tell their strangest cases and Connor couldn´t believe that there really was an artifact, which forced people to tap dancing. "Since I started working in the warehouse, I´m totally crazy," Connor admitted, "I don´t know what´s true and what´s not..."  
"What about the artifacts that we need to find?", Myka reminded them.  
"Why do you say that?", Claudia asked. It was the middle of the night and they still had no idea, who had invaded Artie almost eight months ago in front of the house and stole the artifacts.  
"I just wanted to remind you."  
"Alright. Stop fighting."  
They watched the movie. After about half an hour Myka had fallen asleep on the couch again. However, a loud alarm startled her.  
"What is it?", Connor asked.  
"An alarm from the warehouse," Claudia said, "There is probably a message."  
They got up. "...I'm coming with you," Myka decided who had woken up again.  
"You won´t," Pete stopped her.  
"Why?"  
He pointed to her stomach. "You can´t run as fast as before."  
"I´m coming with you. Do not argue!"

Claudia's fingers flicked impatiently on the keyboard of her computer. Connor and Lindsay watched her. "Tell me, Claudia, can you track our missing artifacts with the computer?", Lindsay asked.  
"I ever tried... Probably the thief hasn´t used the artifacts so far ..."  
"Whoever stole the artifacts: As long as we are in possession of True Love's Kiss, they should be relatively useless," Pete suggested.  
"But that doesn´t mean that someone wouldn´t steal the artifact."  
"Perhaps you should bring your part of the artifact to a safer place," Claudia suggested, "Seriously, you should definitely take a little trip. I remember you and Myka haven´t been on honeymoon... Soon your baby will be born and then you won´t have time for a vacation."  
"Sounds as if you wanted me and Myka out of the house", while Pete said this, he's brow furrowed.  
Claudia had suggested they could use Ian Flemming's belt to travel to Mexico on vacation, but Pete told her that he and Myka were responsible for the warehouse. They couldn´t simply go on vacation. Especially not when an unknown person was in possession of a powerful artifact.  
"You know, it's not true," she sounded horrified. With a look of disbelief she turned to Pete.  
"Perhaps, the Council will approve a one week holiday when we brought the artifacts in our possession... And I don´t think the baby would disturb us in our holiday. The baby won´t bother us here in the warehouse... She will grow up here and get to know the warehouse. And maybe one day she will take our place in the warehouse", Pete said.  
"She?", Lindsay asked, "Does that mean the baby is a girl?"  
Claudia smiled. "Pete and Myka are expecting a little girl," she sang.  
"All my life I´m surrounded by beautiful women."  
"Where is the list of the top three names Favorites? I know for sure that there is a list."  
"Claudia, no! "Pete called to her.  
"I don´t think Claudia wants you and Myka out of the house," Lindsay said.  
"Why would she do that?", Myka asked, who came in.  
"Claudia wants to know how we name our baby."  
"And why Claudia wants to have us out of the house?", Myka repeated when they all gathered behind the computer, "Is there trouble?"  
"Don´t listen to her. You and Pete, you have the warehouse under control. You are doing a good job", Connor said to her.  
In fact, Pete had almost memorized Claudia´s database since he and Myka had to guard the warehouse. He now knew about each artifact in the warehouse and admitted to himself that his task was very serious to him.  
"Thank you," Pete muttered. He would do anything to safe the warehouse.  
The computer showed them a video, which was uploaded to YouTube half an hour ago. "There it is...", Claudia muttered, "The video is from New York. There, a man appeared who was driving in a kind of chariot through Times Square. The horses, which were harnessed to the chariot, pulled a trail of fire behind him."  
"What do you think? Which artifact is it?", Lindsay asked.  
"The death mask of Tutankhamun," Myka suspected, "He was an Egyptian pharaoh who was known when Howard Carter in 1922 discovered his grave in the Valley of the Kings. At that time people still believed in the curse of the pharaoh: Some members of Carter's excavation team died within the first five years after the elevation of the sarcophagus..."  
"How does the mask now come to New York?"  
"I don´t know," Myka replied, "The mask was stolen in 2015 during an exhibition in Munich. Since this day no one knows who´s the thief."  
"There was a warehouse in Egypt, right?", Connor asked.  
"Very well observed... In any case, the mask is now surfaced in New York: It gives everyone who wears it, the desire to rule the world."  
Claudia's computer showed a new message. "The Pharaoh's chariots have been spotted again: He leaves a trail of destruction behind. He's on his way to the West."  
"Northwest", Connor corrected, "What could he want in the Northwest? What would help him take over the world? "His question sounded as if he already knew the answer. "He's on his way here."

"... It's all right, Claudia!", Pete exclaimed as he carried Mykas and his suitcase down the stairs. He put both suitcases outside the front door, "I solemnly promise we will send you a postcard from Hawaii."  
"Modern people send holiday photos via What's app."  
Pete had no idea how Claudia had managed to get him and Myka out of the house: She had talked to them until they agreed to make the trip. Claudia called it Honeymoon and Babymoon in one.  
"Enjoy your Baby- Honeymoon," Lindsay said.  
Myka now came down the stairs.  
"Did you pack the artifact?", Lindsay asked.  
"Yes, I have it here," Myka patted the side pocket of her summer jacket, "We will take good care of the artifact... I don´t understand why we can´t just drive to Colorado and see my parents... "  
"True," Connor said to her, "Your parents are still the owner of the bookstore Bering &amp; Sons, right?"  
"Yes, why do you ask?"  
"The crime writer Richard Castle is having an autograph session next week," said Connor, "You could have bring me a signed book..." Connor was disappointed.  
Now Pete remembered Claudia's strongest argument: She said they could use the journey to safe True Love's Kiss temporarily. In addition, the death mask of Tutankhamun was on the way here... And Claudia suggested they should bring the artifact out of here as soon as possible. The young woman sat behind her computer and then booked a hotel on Big Iceland, the main island of Hawaii.  
"We have to leave," Pete said, and glanced at his watch.  
"Yes, all right," Claudia gave them Ian Flemming's belt, "Hold the belt and just think of the last table at your restaurant. The artifact will take you there."  
"What, if someone is sitting at this table?", Lindsay asked, because this question was completely justified and Claudia gave her a bewildered look.  
Myka took her bag and said goodbye to her friends, then she and Pete reached simultaneously for Ian Flemming's belt and thought about the last table in the restaurant of the Hawaiian Star hotels. They were immediately disappeared.  
"And now we should take care of Tutankhamun."

"What are you looking for?", Lindsay asked Connor when he was standing on a ladder at the warehouse and rummaged in a shelf. Claudia and Steve were also on their way to them, because they had to talk about how they would defend the warehouse.  
Connor stepped from the ladder and looked for an item in a box. He pulled out a wallet, turned around and took out the existing bills. Then he ordered the bills to a fan and grinned.  
"What's wrong with him?", Lindsay asked.  
"This is Larry Hagman´s wallet. Connor now believes he is an actor in a TV series", Steve said. Fortunately, Connor had not grabbed Mel Brook´s camera, because everyone who touched the camera, laughed themselves to death. In the truest sense of the word.  
The artifact seemed to lose its effect. "Larry Hagman´s wallet," Connor commented and put the old bills back in the wallet, "I was not looking for that. I wanted to have that."He took an item out of the box. "This is the needle of the German Empress Cunegonde. It will help us to build a protective shield around the warehouse."  
"Why does Tutankhamun believe that the warehouse could help him to rule the world?" Lindsay asked.  
"He knows where all the artifacts are," Claudia said, "That's why he's on the way here."  
"It was wrong to send Pete and Myka away with the artifact," Steve criticized his best friend, "We all know that. Artie himself said that True Love's Kiss is the strongest artifact ever", Steve reminded her, "Actually it has to be locked up in the Dark Vault... What if this lunatic finds out that the artifact is not here? Maybe he follows the two to the end of the world and..."  
"Steve," Claudia called angrily, "You get on my nerves!... I didn´t send Pete and Myka away with the artifact, because it is a very powerful artifact, but for a different reason."  
"What reason?", Connor asked.  
"If we fail, and the warehouse is destroyed, the artifact is our only guarantee that humanity won´t perish."

A pillar of fire in the east announced the imminent arrival of Tutankhamun.  
The hot, dry wind blew in their faces, as Lindsay, Connor, Steve and Claudia were busy trying to stretch the fine yarn with needles around the entire warehouse.  
If the legend was true, then each yarn, which was excited by the needle of the Empress, transformed into a kind of shield. In her lifetime the Empress had succeeded to protect their hometown from war with a yarn. According to Artie the needle of Cunegonde was one of the oldest artifacts ever.  
The pillar of fire grew and finally they saw a flaming chariot coming over the hill.  
"He is there," Claudia said. For safety she had equipped herself with several other artifacts. Just in case that the needle wouldn´t help. It wasn´t common that they used the artifacts stored in the warehouse to defend themselves.  
The chariot stopped and a heavy, burning figure stepped out. The earth shook, as Tutankhamun´s heavy feet stepped on the ground.  
"He wears the part of the marble slab from the World Trade Center," Lindsay remarked. The marble chip was integrated into a chain that dangled around the neck of the Pharaoh.  
Tutankhamun took the feather of the owl, rose a whirlwind and as he reached for the video tape from Roswell, it turned into a whip, which seemed to move on its own. The cyclone detects the four and carried them into the air.  
"What's he doing?", Steve cried. Sand blew into his mouth.  
The bow and arrow of Robin Hood, an artifact that Claudia had caught up, slipped from her shoulder. Before the artifact fell to the ground and fell into the hands of Tutankhamun, Connor grabbed the object.  
"Aim at the marble chip!", Claudia called to him. Her hair blew in her face, but she could still see that the firestorm tried to reach the warehouse. However, the needle didn´t seem to fail, because obviously it protected the warehouse.  
"Aim at him!", Claudia suggested. A gust of wind hurled her against the shield, which the needle had drawn around the warehouse. "Claudia!", Steve was horrified.  
Connor took an arrow, drew it into the bow and tried to aim. His hand trembled and the wind didn´t help that he could fix his target well.  
The protective shield around the warehouse, consisting of a sewing needle, set for a moment.  
"Shoot! He shouldn´t reach the warehouse!", Lindsay cried, who saw how Claudia fell to the ground and lay there unconscious. The wind and the sand ached in her face.  
Connor let go of the arrow, but the wind helped that it flew in the opposite direction.  
"It doesn´t work!"  
The cyclone brought Connor to the edge of the whirlwind, and he decided to try again. The arrow didn´t hit the marble chip, but the death mask of Tutankhamun and damaged it: Blue Lightning came out of the mask, the fire choked. The man behind the mask started trembling and finally fell to the ground. The hurricane disappeared.  
Lindsay went to Claudia, as soon as she had solid ground under her feet again. Claudia's head ached when she got up. "Are you okay?", Lindsay asked as she helped her. The red-haired woman nodded. "Is it over?"  
"I hope so." She looked at the figure that lay motionless on the ground.  
"Is he dead?", Connor asked. They made their way to him. Meanwhile, Connor reached for another arrow from Robin Hood's pocket and cocked it in the bow.  
"I hope so for us," Steve replied. He watched the chariot of Tutankhamun and noticed that he seemed to disappear slowly.  
Claudia knelt beside the motionless man.  
"Who is that?", Lindsay asked, when Claudia reached for the Mask of Tutankhamun with her gloved hands and pulled it from the head of the man. Steve took a XXL neutralization bag from the pocket of his black vest. The artifact sparked when they neutralized it.  
"Do you know him?"  
"No," Claudia and Steve answered in unison.  
"I also don´t know him," Connor added. They thought for a moment what that meant.  
"Is that the thief who stole the artifacts?"  
"Possible," while Claudia said that, the mask carrier broke up and crumbled into dust.

They set out to clean up the Hotel after they had collected and neutralized all artifacts used in front of the warehouse.  
The fiery tail of Tutankhamun hadn´t only left behind a trail of destruction: The Winds of War had also caused damage to trees in the area.  
"How are Pete and Myka doing on Hawaii?", Steve asked. He picked up the shards of a broken flower pot and threw it in the trash.  
"They´re fine. Pete texted me some messages, but I can´t figure out what it means, "Claudia said. She had texted a message to Pete this morning, and wanted to know how they liked Hawaii.  
Then Pete replied: "_We are fine. Hotel´s very nice. There is plenty of food such as pastor with ham and vegetarian. Hawaiian pizza and vegetarian pizza.._.."  
Then Claudia wrote: _"What is pastor?"_  
Pete: _"pas" "pasta salad, I mean."_  
"I assume Pete hasn´t his new cell phone under control yet," Claudia added while she eliminated a bunch of shards, they had to thank the broken window in the front door. They still didn´t know who was the thief who had stolen them the artifacts, and probably the death mask of Tutankhamun from an exhibition in Germany.  
"Before Pete and Myka come back tomorrow, we need to clean up the mess here," Connor suggested, "We go shopping. We need a new window for the front door, a new washer and certainly a few other things."  
"Good idea," Lindsay and Steve loved the idea and left the house with Connor. Claudia complained because they let her alone with the cleanup, "You can´t leave me here..."

After Pete and Myka had returned the next day, Myka had put her artifact back to the provided for it place in her room. In the afternoon Myka went to sleep. After an hour she woke up, she was still tired but her stomach hurt. Myka swung her legs off the bed and got up. However, another pain made her fall back on the mattress.  
"Hello?", she called out, "Is anyone there?"  
The door to her bedroom was open and she was relieved to see Lindsay. "Is everything all right?",she asked.  
"Where is Pete?"  
"He and Connor are still at the Warehouse. But I believe they will come home soon. Why, what's wrong?"  
"I think I'm in labor." The doctor had calculated the birth of the eighth of August. The baby was five days early.  
"My God!", Lindsay was clearly overwhelmed, "Should I call Pete?"  
"No, I´m fine," Myka reached out for her, "Let´s down stairs."  
Lindsay helped Myka down the stairs. They decided they would wait him living area.  
"Should I call Pete?" Lindsay asked again.  
Myka grabbed the chair and leaning on it. Then she started breathing exercises. At this moment the main entrance door of the house swung open and Pete and Connor came in. Pete looked at Myka first. "Are you...?",he asked, and she nodded.  
"I ...", he turned to panic, "I'll get your bags and..."  
"If you want to take a shower after work, that's fine," Myka continued their breathing exercises. Lindsay stood beside her and supported her.  
Pete ran up the stairs and shortly after they heard a door slamming. With trampling steps Pete came down the stairs, he pulled a black travel bag behind him. Then he reached for Mykas arm and led her out.  
"Shall we come with you?", Lindsay asked. The two didn´t respond, but Connor had the car keys.  
The ride to the nearest hospital took almost an hour. Connor stopped Pete's car in the driveway of the emergency room and let the two get off with Lindsay. He would park the car.  
"Do you want to walk?", Pete asked. Myka stood beside him, holding her belly.  
"No," she shook her head. Lindsay ran off to fetch a wheelchair. Then she took Mykas bag so Pete could push the wheelchair.  
Connor caught up with her at the front desk of the maternity ward. Myka was just taken to a room while Lindsay signed the papers for her. When she was done, she and Connor had to stay in the waiting room. Meanwhile, Pete and Myka were talking to a doctor: "The baby can come," she said, "We take you to the delivery room and check your state every five minutes."  
The doctor put her in a purple painted room and Pete made a comment about the wall color. Then he sat down on a chair next to Mykas bed and bit into a Submarine sandwich with cheese and ham. Myka looked at him incredulously.  
"Are you hungry?", he asked as he noticed her gaze and offered her to bite into the sandwich.  
"No," she shook her head, "How can you only think about food in such a situation?"  
"I'm sorry," Pete put the sandwich in the bag.  
A contraction shook her body and she grabbed his hand. "Is everything all right?", Pete asked.  
"Nothing at all is alright," tears of pain welled up in her eyes.  
"I see that you are making progress," the doctor smiled when she came in.  
"Is it starting now?" Pete asked her.  
"We are started."

"Are you done yet?", Claudia asked Connor and Lindsay two days later, when they hung a colorful fabric banner over the entrance door of Leena's Bed &amp; Breakfast. Today was a sunny day.  
"Yes," Connor jumped off a ladder.  
"Great." Claudia had piled the baby gifts inside the house and Abigail was still busy with cooking food. Fortunately, no one had holed up in the warehouse, although Claudia believed that this would have been Arties part because he always said he couldn´t handle babies.  
Claudia couldn´t wait to see the baby finally. So far, only Connor and Lindsay had been allowed to visit Myka at the hospital.  
Claudia asked them into the house. There they had to wait till Pete came out of the hospital with Myka.  
An hour later they heard the front door opened. "Hey Hey Hey!" Pete's voice was very quiet, when he saw his friends. Claudia, Steve, Abigail, Connor and Lindsay got up from the couch. "Is this the baby?", Claudia asked. The baby had dark hair and fell asleep in Mykas arms.  
"You look so happy," noted Abigail when she hugged Myka.  
"I am, thank you."  
"What name did you choose?", Claudia asked as she looked at the baby, then Myka put the infant even in her arm.  
"We couldn´t decide between Penny and Elisabetta."  
"That both sounds terrible," Claudia muttered, "Wait... You don´t want to say in this way that you chose Claudia?"  
"No," Pete shook his head, "Are you disappointed now?"  
"We finally chose Zelda," she and Pete exchanged a hasty glance.  
"This is a pretty freaky name..."  
"We know. We wanted to follow Mykas example", Pete said, receiving a pat on the arm. They all laughed.  
"Claudia, we wanted to ask you if you want to be her godmother."  
"I'm not good at this stuff ...", Claudia said and the baby began to cry. The young woman handed the baby to Pete and Zelda snuggled up to her dad´s neck.  
They were interrupted by an alarm. "What is it?", Myka asked. Claudia and Steve were suddenly in excitement.  
"There is an alarm in the warehouse," Lindsay and Connor were already on the way out the door, "I have told you we shouldn´t leave Gordon Ramsey's frying pan unattended. It´s flaring the whole warehouse someday... "

Fin


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Watch the Sky  
Author: Dancing Star  
Crossover: PSI Factor/ Warehouse 13  
Pairing: Connor/ Lindsay, Pete/ Myka  
Rating: 12  
Category: AU, Mystery  
Content: An old friend needs Connors and Lindsays help.  
Notes: Inspired by many great Warehouse 13- and Dark Skies- episodes (a show which was filmed the mid-1990s and isn´t aired on German television for a long time).

**Watch the Sky **

Claudia was searching for Connor and Lindsay and she found both at the Warehouse. "Claudia, we have also been looking for you," Connor said and he was in high spirits. He and Lindsay led the red-haired woman in another corridor of the warehouse.  
"We thought that you as a warehouse manager might want to see this," Lindsay said, "Connor and I found the greatest artifact in the history of Warehouse 13."  
Claudia believed it was impossible. The largest artifact, which they hosted, was an Egyptian pyramid.  
"Ta- da," Lindsay sang, "Mount Rushmore, the largest and heaviest artifact of its time... And the cause of frog rain in the Midwest..."  
"Wait a second," Claudia looked incredulously, "You replaced it, right?" She lifted a hand in warning. "Or should I fear that I go crazy when I turn on my TV this evening and find out that Mount Rushmore is reported missing?"  
"We replaced Mount Rushmore with a life-size dummy. It wasn´t s easy to get the rocks in the right position", Lindsay didn´t like being treated like a beginner.  
"Hey guys," Pete, who waved to them from the mountain said. He dangled right in front of George Washington's nose and wore a helmet and mountaineering equipment was strapped to his body.  
"What are you doing up there?", Claudia asked skeptically.  
"Climbing", Pete answered, "At least we now have a real mountain at the warehouse. Thank you", he said to Connor and Lindsay.  
"Oh Captain, my Captian!", Connor called to him.  
"You rock!", Lindsay added and they both laughed.  
"There´s something you both need to know," Pete drew their conversation in a different direction, "Steve told, someone is waiting for you at the hotel. He says his name is Peter Axon."  
Connor and Lindsay looked at each other and left the warehouse immediately.

Connor was the first who entered the hotel, followed closely by Lindsay and Pete, who had managed to break away from his new hobby quickly. Claudia has also come along, because she was too curious.  
"Peter!", Connor said, when he saw his former colleague.  
"Hey!", Peter laughed, "How are you? Is this your new job?"His gaze reviewed the hotel very accurate. He couldn´t find out why Connor and Lindsay liked this location.  
"Peter, these are our new friends. This is Claudia", Connor said, the red-haired woman raised a hand, "That's Myka. This is Pete... And you already know Steve."  
"Yes," Peter nodded, "Are you... Well, so please don´t get me wrong, but you are something of a cult?"  
"What?", Connor and Lindsay at each other, "No."  
They sat down at the table in the conservatory. "Will you finally tell me what you are doing here?", Peter asked. He didn´t believe the two had come to South Dakota to work in a hotel.  
"That's impossible," Lindsay said, "We can´ talk to anyone about it. That's ultra secret... How's Anton?"  
"Fine thanks... ", Peter reached into his jacket and pulled out an envelope," I'm here because we don´t know what to do in our current case. We need your help." Peter showed them the photo of a little girl. "This is Mona Williams. She disappeared two days ago on her father's farm. Middle of the night, No one has seen or heard something."  
"What's so strange?", Myka asked, who also sat at the table. As a new mother she could understand what sorrow of the little girl's father must be feeling.  
Peter showed them more photos now. "The police have found an arrangement of stones on the farm that spells the word ANGEL. Mona hasn´t written this because she´s only four years old... And here is a rock formation, which is arranged as an arrow. The police searched the direction where the arrow led to." Peter put another photo on the table and they all froze for a moment. "That has appeared on the Cornfield of the neighboring farm."  
The picture showed a curved formation, which consisted of flattened stalks and was good to see from the air.

"Is it really okay for you?", Lindsay asked when she grabbed some clothes and put it in a suitcase. Everybody had gathered in her room.  
"Of course. Finally, you are friends", Myka relied who sat with her baby in a chair. The baby had cried all night and therefore she was glad when Zelda was asleep again.  
"What will Pete say?"  
"Just give him a couple of candy bars, then that's okay for him," Myka said. In that moment, Pete walked through the door: "Hey!"  
"It's incredible how many books Connor has but he only owns the books about aliens," while they were talking, Claudia grabbed a book and seated herself on the chest which stood beside the bed. She flipped through it. Claudia found a drawing that was loosely placed in the book and showed an oval face with almond-shaped eyes, a flat nose and a slit for a mouth. A cold shiver ran down her spine. She flipped a page and saw a photo of a mountain called Devils Tower. The mountain was located in eastern Wyoming. Claudia knew this place was known as spaceship landing place among UFO fans and it was located just a few hours away from her home.  
While they were talking, Peter Axon came up the stairs to the upper floor and when he noticed their conversation, he stopped on the top steps. He didn´t want to spy actually...  
"I have a question," Claudia's voice sounded serious and Lindsay, Connor, Pete and Myka stopped talking, "Is it true? Is there really aliens?" She showed them the drawing.  
"Yes, it's true," Connor nodded, "I hope you can handle that."  
"Yes," for one second Claudia thought how to respond, "I work at Warehouse 13. I've seen worse."  
"I think you should go," Myka said and Pete nodded approvingly, "If this little girl is really gone, you should do everything to find her."  
"Thank you," Lindsay nodded, "I promise we'll come back."  
"That's the truth," Steve grinned.  
A cough interrupted their meeting. They turned around and saw their visitor from OSIR standing in the doorway. "I´d like to know what Warehouse 13 is."

The warehouse was classified, but Connor and Lindsay knew their friend was a trustworthy person, so it was okay to show him why they had come to South Dakota. "Damn," Claudia grumbled quietly as they entered the warehouse, "I shouldn´t talk about the warehouse at the hotel."  
Connor and Lindsay led Peter through the corridors of the secret facility. Pete forbid a demonstration of the effect of artifacts. The less Peter Axon knew, the better it was. But it didn´t work: Pete spied from the balcony in front of Arties office and through his binoculars he saw how Connor showed the effect of the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center. He shook his head and Myka told him he shouldn´t worry: "He has promised not to talk about the warehouse and according to Steve it´s the truth."  
After the demonstration of artifacts they left Peter Axon for a moment on the balcony. Claudia joined him and gave him a drink.  
"This warehouse is incredible," he said, "I never thought that... Well, Connor and Lindsay certainly won the jackpot with this job... What do you think, why did the two never tell me anything about it?"  
"They weren´t allowed to," Claudia replied, "Every warehouse agent has only one trusted person."  
"We also haven´t stayed in touch, since Connor and Lindsay came to South Dakota," Peter said.  
"But the two invited you to their wedding, didn´t they?," Claudia asked and when she saw his quizzical expression, she added: "Yes, the two are a couple before we knew them."  
"I didn´t know even this... What exactly are Connor and Lindsay doing here in this warehouse?", Peter Axon asked.  
Claudia's answer was simple: "Pete and Myka are Artie. Connor and Lindsay are Pete and Myka."  
"What?"  
"This is my way to say that Pete and Myka now are doing Arties job. And Connor and Lindsay do the job of Pete and Myka. "  
"I still don´t understand," Peter said, "Who´s Artie?"  
"All right: Connor and Lindsay are responsible for bringing artifacts to this warehouse after Pete and Myka had tracked them. Then we neutralize and categorize them."  
"Hey, what are you talking about?", Pete asked, who joined them on the balcony.  
"Is it true what Claudia says?", Peter Axon wanted to know, "Are You the Boss?"  
"I´m always the first persons who rushes through the door," Pete grinned.  
Myka couldn´t believe what he said: "Yes, but someone needs to know which door is the right one... Pete and I get the job done together, but yes, it's true what Claudia says."  
"All right," Peter nodded, "Can you borrow me Connor and Lindsay for a few days? We could really need help..."

Peter Axon was relieved when Connor and Lindsay greeted their old teammates. Many of them were happy to see them again. "We should hurry," Peter then said, "Mona must be found quickly. Come, I introduce you to her father."  
It was a sunny September day in Oregon. They went to the house, a barking German Shepherd accompanied them. At the house, a man opened the door, dressed in jeans and a plaid shirt, and stepped out onto the porch. His shepherd dog sat down next to him. Lindsay stopped when she saw him. "Wait, I know him," she said.  
"This is the mask carrier," Connor agreed, "This is the man who wore Tutankhamun's mask and attacked the warehouse."

Lindsay used the Farnsworth to call Pete and Myka. "You won´t believe it, but James Meyer, the father of Mona, looks like the mask carrier."  
Pete and Myka exchanged a questioning look. Lindsay could see on the small screen of her Farnsworth. "Connor is now talking to him," she added and saw that Connor had completed the survey. He came to her.  
"I asked him if he was recently in New York."  
"And?", Pete and Myka asked at the same time.  
"He said no. But I found out he has visited the Tutankhamun exhibition in Germany in 2015... His mother still lives in Munich. So he was just visiting there."  
"Could he have a twin brother?"  
"No."  
"Would it be possible," Myka began, "That the death mask of Tutankhamun has manufactured a double of the man for some reason?"  
"I couldn´t find something about it in the warehouse- database," Lindsay said, "And if so, why did the mask just chose him?" She shrugged. It could have been a coincidence.  
"Shall we come to you?", Pete wanted to know now. Connor and Lindsay could see on the small round screen how Pete discussed about this with his wife. Then the connection was interrupted.

They received help the next day: Pete, Steve and Claudia had come here as soon as possible. "Myka stays at home with Zelda," Pete reported, "She can also send us artifacts by courier in case we need them."  
"What's in the truck?", Claudia asked. She had noticed the truck without print on the sides long ago.  
"The mobile lab," Lindsay said. Like every morning Peter Axon headed a briefing. He introduced the help to his team and then decided to make them responsible with an easy task, while the rest of his team checked the fields in the vicinity of unusually high chemical values. Maybe in the night, a new crop circle had appeared and only in the event that indeed an alien spaceship was responsible, then they would also find traces.  
Pete, Connor and Lindsay searched in the ground floor of the house: They should keep an eye if there was something that was against theory of aliens. Perhaps Monas Dad still had living relatives and Mona had disappeared there secretly...  
Claudia and Steve were busy upstairs in the house with the same task.  
Steve currently searched Monas rooms, a dream of pink. The girl's father stood in the doorway and watched him skeptically.  
Steve had a theory, but he didn´t dare to tell Connor and Lindsay about it: Mona had disappeared. Her mother was, according to the documents dead-Steve thought the father had something to do with it and only wanted to get rid of his wife and his daughter.  
"Where is Mona's mother?", Steve asked and he tried to pretend as if he hadn´t seen the documents.  
"She's dead," the farmer said, "One morning she never woke up," his voice failed almost, "The bad thing is that the doctors can´t say for sure what had happened because she was very healthy in her lifetime."  
Steve found a picture in Monas rooms which she had painted. It was a small, brown-haired girl and three small gray figures. In the sky floated a slide-shaped object.  
"Mona is a talented painter," her father said, "He mother also was... My wife had a studio in the attic. You want to see it?"  
"Sure." Steve followed him through a narrow staircase to the attic. In fact, there were many painted canvases. Some of them showed Mona. Another painting showed the farm. Mona's mom had also tried to paint a fruit bowl.  
"Your wife was a good painter," Steve said. He stepped behind a screen, because he could see some more paintings were exhibited here. A particular image caught his attention. "Is it possible that your wife has ever taken your daughter to her studio?", Steve asked.  
"No. Why do you ask?"  
Steve didn´t respond but grabbed for his cell phone. Connor, Lindsay, Claudia and Pete were scattered somewhere on the farm. He thought they should see that Mona's mother was apparently involved in a strange thing: The image of the small gray beings with black, almond-shaped eyes proved.

"Apparently, Mona and her mother were hit by the same essence," Lindsay said when she saw the picture. Claudia was noticeably quiet. Her friends found this didn´t fit to her.  
"That would also explain why Mona's mom never woke up one morning, even though she was healthy", before Connor told them his theory, he turned around to check that Mona's father couldn´t hear them.  
"You´re right," Lindsay agreed. Then she looked at Pete, Claudia and Steve. "What do you think?"  
"I have a premonition," Pete suddenly said, "Something is going to happen."  
"Should we keep the team on the farm this night?", Peter was alarmed.  
"Agreed," Connor nodded, "We can divide the team into smaller groups."  
In the evening, Connor and Lindsay and Steve walked through the house, the barn and checked the Cornfield of the farm before they went to the pasture where the cows were housed. At 01:00 a.m. they were replaced by Peter Axon and three other OSIR- agents. Each group checked the motion sensors and surveillance cameras, which they had installed during the day on the farm. Peter had instructed them just to wear swatches, which were battery-free (He hoped they could detect a possible loss of time in this way).  
It remained quiet throughout the night. Nothing unusual happened.  
Pete wasn´t the only one who was frustrated in the morning: Worried, he used his Farnsworth to talk to Myka, while he sat completely exhausted on a wooden seating behind the house. He told his wife what they had previously experienced. Myka listened patiently while she fed Zelda with a bottle of milk.  
"...This is actually a very weird story," Myka said when he had finished his report, "You've never been wrong when you have a premonition."  
"Yes," Pete nodded, "I know something is going to happen."  
"You should talk to Connor and Lindsay. Maybe...", she drew the bottle out of Zelda´s mouth, because she needed a hand to gesture," Maybe you've been wrong only in the day and you were too early. You should keep an eye on the farm."  
"Thank you, Myks. This helped me a lot."  
"My pleasure."  
"I love…"  
Pete heard that Connor called after him. So he said goodbye to Myka and stowed the Farnsworth in his pants pocket.

Fortunately, also Connor agreed to monitor the farm longer. He divided the team in groups so everybody could rest and sleep. At night, everyone gathered again at the farm.  
The air smelled of rain, Pete noticed. It was an almost ominous smell.  
At midnight Steve sat on a chair in the dark living room. "Nothing, so far."  
"Tonight, something will happen," Pete said, "I feel it."  
"He's right," Lindsay suddenly agreed, "I feel it too."  
"What?", Connor looked at her.  
Out of nowhere, the living room was bathed in bright, brilliant light. Claudia, who was standing right next to Lindsay, grabbed her arm.  
The light was gone as quickly as it had come. "What was that?", Pete asked. They turned around and saw that Mona's dad stood in the doorway.  
"Mr. Meyer?", Connor spoke to him, but the man didn´t respond. Ignoring him, he walked over to the couch and sat down and stared straight ahead. Then he began to mutter in a foreign language. His voice was getting louder.  
"What .. What's he saying?", Lindsay asked. She was cold.  
"That's ancient Greek, if I'm not mistaken," Connor's brow wrinkled while Steve yelled at him what exactly he said.  
"_Get her on the field_."  
"On the field?"  
"The Cornfield!", Claudia cried and rushed to the door, "The crop circle!"  
Her friends followed her and they ran as fast as they could to the field on which the crop circle had appeared.  
They didn´t believe what they saw: A disc-shaped spaceship floated about their heads. A light beam fixed the little girl and lifted her into the air.  
"Mona!," Connor and Lindsay rushed forward. Claudia wasn´t able to move: Although she didn´t want, her knees became weak for a second. Then she and Steve followed them only three seconds later.  
The light beam threatened to pull Mona in the spaceship. They reached the girl and had to jump in the air so they could reach her. The extra weight on her feet pulled Mona down and the entire group landed hard in the grass. The beam of light disappeared and the disc-shaped object whose bottom was covered with colorful lights, silently disappeared among the clouds and stars.

Their mission had ended long ago three days later and they were all returned to South Dakota. Before Peter Axon was able to write his final report, Connor, Lindsay, Claudia, Steve and Pete helped in search of the house in which Mona lived. They found out that the paintings of Mona and her mother pictures had mysteriously disappeared. Lindsay and Connor talked to Peter but he promised them he or his team had nothing to do with it. In the final, medical examination of Mona and her dad, it was found out that both had small scars, arranged in formations, on the back and other body parts. Mona also told she had seen a small, gray alien which made the formation, showing the word ANGEL. Mona had thought, the alien was an angel which could take her to her dead mother.  
Claudia found it was difficult to understand what she had seen even though she had already seen some strange things in the warehouse.  
In the evening, Claudia stepped out onto the terrace of Leena's Bed &amp; Breakfast and looked at the sky. Her friends came to her. "What's going on?", Connor asked, "Did you see something in the sky?"  
"I hope you didn´t", Myka said. Pete had already reported everything in detail and Steve had also confirmed the story. Myka was worried.  
"No, there is nothing but it´s hard to understand what I've seen."  
"We know."  
They watched the sky if perhaps a point of light was moving faster than anyone else. A plane was moving east from a constellation which was called Orion.  
"Guys, do you believe, we...", Claudia took a deep breath, "So, do you believe the double of James Meyer is a product of..."  
"We don´t know," Lindsay fortunately said so Claudia didn´t have to end the sentence. But she found her theory was entirely possible. Until they had an answer they would continue to watch the sky.

Fin


	5. Chapter 5

Title: The magic Carpet  
Author: Dancing Star  
Crossover: PSI Factor/ Warehouse 13  
Pairing: Connor/ Lindsay, Pete/ Myka  
Rating: 12  
Category: AU, Mystery, Romance  
What happens: A stolen carpet leads a part of the team to Abu Dhabi.  
Comments: Sorry you had to wait so long for a new story.  
Have a happy and merry Christmas!

The magic Carpet

"Don´t forget: Christmas is coming soon", Claudia recalled her friends at breakfast.  
"How could we forget that?", Steve told her. They had decided this year everyone was a secret elf. Claudia had to get a gift for Lindsay and she had no idea what to buy. She had even tried to question Connor without making him notice why she did this. She believed that Connor would tell Lindsay who was her secret elves.  
"I don´t like to disturb you," Pete said as he entered the living room. He was very worried, "Pack your bags. You will fly to Abu Dhabi today."  
"Why?", Connor was curious. He put down his coffee cup.  
"The carpet from Sheikh Zayed Mosque was stolen. It´s the largest and most expensive artifact of the world." Pete told them the carpet was made by1200 Iranian women in 20 months handwork. The carpet was so large that it covered the entire floor of the mosque.  
"What is the ability of the carpet?", Claudia asked.  
"The one who owns the carpet, gained a lot of wealth and power", while Pete spoke, Claudia wondered why it was that bad, but this question was really unnecessary, "Well, pack your bags. The plane starts at 07:00 pm. I have tickets for Connor, Lindsay and Claudia." Pete handed them a wallet with three tickets but Myka snapped it.  
"I'm going to represent Claudia," she decided.  
"You want to come with them?"  
"Yes."  
"But what about Zelda?"  
"Claudia can take care of her," said Myka and Claudia was shocked when she heard it, "A little time without my baby will be good for me. It will help me to be a better mother."  
"Aha," came from Pete, but he wasn´t sure if he should believe her.  
"We don´t fly, we take the belt of Ian Flemming and are immediately there," Connor suggested. The belt of Ian Flemming was an artifact, which could take you to a place when you thought about it hard enough.  
"Unfortunately, that's not possible. The belt doesn´t have enough energy", Claudia said, "That's why Ian Flemming had several belts, which took him to any place he wanted. Even to the moon."  
"To the moon?", Lindsay asked.  
"Yes, there he was inspired for James Bond: Moonraker."  
"All right, we use a plane," Connor finally gave in and got up.  
"Fine, but don´t forget, it´s Christmas in six days. You have to be back then", said Claudia and she also had no idea who her secret elf was.  
They decided to pack their bags and leave today. Connor also grabbed the belt of Ian Flemming secretly.

In the evening of the same day Pete was sitting on the couch in the living room. His four-month-old daughter was resting on his chest, and fell asleep. Zelda slept very peacefully.  
"How's it going so far?", asked Claudia, who stood in the doorway. It was snowing outside again. She was worried they were completely snowed until Christmas.  
"Until now, little Miss Bering is behaving really exemplary, isn´t it?" He looked at Zelda, but of course the baby didn´t answer.  
"You have to admit, lately she has been crying at night very often. I can understand that Myka need a break."  
"Hey!", Pete yelled and got up a bit, "Zelda had a cold and..."  
"It´s okay. Anyway, your wife is responsible that I am not in Abu Dhabi now", Claudia left him a little offended.  
"Shouldn´t you prepare our Christmas Party, Claudia?" Pete exclaimed and at that moment Zelda began moving. Pete knew exactly how he could calm her down.

Connor and Lindsay were tired: The flight to Dubai had lasted nearly sixteen hours. Then they had to go by car to Abu Dhabi. There were slightly more than 160 kilometers.  
Connor had enough. He wasn´t only tired, he could also use a shower. Sullen, they noted that there was no reservation for them: Claudia insisted they would return back home as soon as possible and that's why she had not booked a hotel.  
Cranky, Connor braked his rental car in the parking lot in front of the Great Mosque, the symbol of Abu Dhabi.  
"It's incredible you have to pay for the car park...", he muttered, "Let's go inside as quickly as possible." With these words he had left the car.  
"I don´t understand what he believes to find there," Lindsay said to Myka, who was sitting on the back seat and transformed her scarf in a headscarf. Women were not allowed to enter the premises and the mosque without a headscarf. Lindsay had seen in passing busses how female tourists wrapped themselves in an Abaya, because women had to cover their arms and legs as well.  
Lindsay and Myka got out to follow Connor. At the entrance they had to go separately through a security check. Then they walked through a park to the main entrance of the building.  
"What are we doing here?", Lindsay asked, who had now caught up to Connor.  
"I would like to know how to steal a 5627-square-meter carpet," he said, as they crossed the courtyard. The ground was covered with white gleaming marble. The blue sky formed a wonderful contrast to the building.  
They reached the door that led to the prayer room. Today was Thursday, so many schools were here for a visit. Tomorrow was Friday and in the Emirates, Friday was a "Prayer Day" and thus a non-working day.  
The door to the prayer room was locked, the countless shoe shelves were empty. Those who wanted to enter the mosque, had to take off their shoes. The large prayer room was closed because of the carpet had been stolen and the visitors could only look through the glass door into the interior of the magnificently decorated building and visit the courtyard.  
"What shall we do?", Lindsay asked.  
"No idea," Connor tried to estimate the distance between the prayer room and the entrance, "But no matter who stole the carpet, he must have had help..."  
"Perhaps an artifact was in the game," Lindsay suggested.  
"If the Incredible Hulk hasn´t shown up here by accident, you could be right...", Myka said and was amazed when Connor and Lindsay looked at her a little surprised.  
"You definitely spend too much time with Pete", stated Lindsay and in her purse she grabbed her Farnsworth to call Pete. It didn´t take very long until he answered them, and apparently he was in Artie's office at the Warehouse.  
"Hi Pete," Myka greeted him, "How is Zelda? Is she with you?" Myka hoped her daughter was with him and she could take a look at her through the Farnsworth, but that did not happen.  
"Pete, we are now in the mosque," Lindsay told, "What shall we do?"  
"Good, you call", Pete said, "I have found out there is a warehouse in the Emirates. You have to find the managers."  
"Are you sure?"  
"Well, Mrs. Frederic had been a reliable source..."  
She nodded in agreement. "How can we find the manager?"  
"His name is unknown. Even Mrs. Frederic doesn´t know", Pete said, "But you will know him." A noise in the background chaught Pete´s attention. Myka was immediately alerted. "Pete, was that Zelda?!", she asked frantically.  
"Bye," Pete said instead and turned off his Farnsworth.  
"Pete! Pete!", Myka cried, but when she had realized the connection was terminated, she stowed the Farnsworth in her bag.  
"I didn´t know there is a warehouse in the Emirates," Connor confessed, "Pete said we would recognize the administrator of the warehouse."  
"So it's a man," Lindsay concluded and nodded. She turned around and looked at the people who visited the mosque. Many tourists from different countries were among them, but a man with dark glasses and grey hair pulled her attention.  
"Guys...", Lindsay whispered, "What about him?"  
Connor and Myka stood beside her. The man with the dark sunglasses was obviously blind.  
"That's odd, isn´t it? I mean…. Someone who is blind can visit a sight, of course, but... "  
"...But he wears the sunglasses of John Lennon", Connor added, "I can recognize even from this distance." They went to the man and talked to him. Almost motionless he stood there and seemed to scan the environment.  
"Good day, we..."  
"Warehouse 13," the man only said, "I know of your presence, since you've set foot on this peninsula."  
"Then you are the manager of warehouse...?"  
"Warehouse 9", he added, "I'm Nik Ali." He took off his sunglasses and put them with practiced movements in his pants pocket.  
"You are not blind," Myka said firmly.  
"No. I wanted to challenge your instincts ... Please follow me."

"I could have sworn the warehouse in the Middle East is located in the Sheikh Zayed Mosque", Myka said when Nik led them through a lively open-air museum called Heritage Village. He looked searchingly around so that none of the tourists followed them and then took them down a narrow stone staircase. He led them in a dusty basement. It was hot and stuffy.  
"Please apologize," Nik said, "We don´t have many guests in the warehouse. Most of this artifacts have been collected long ago at this continent."  
"No problem," Myka said. Unlike her chaotic warehouse this place looked very organized and tidy but it was also dusty. "How long have you been manager of this warehouse?", Lindsay asked.  
"For a year now," Nik replied, who handed them a tray with small cups, "I came from India to this country a year ago."  
"What happened to your predecessor?"  
"I don´t know that. I became the administrator of this warehouse randomly. That's a very long story", Nik placed the tray away and they drank. It was Arabic Coffee. "Maybe I'll tell you if we have a little more time."  
A shimmering object caught Lindsay's attention. She put down the empty cup on a table and went to the dusty shelf where a golden lamp stood.  
"This is Aladdin's lamp," she remarked.  
"Not quite," Nik said, "To be more precise, it´s the magic lamp of Scheherazade."  
Lindsay was surprised because she had always thought Scheherazade was a fairy tale.  
"But the lamp is still able to fulfill three wishes," Nik told, "The side effect is, however, that the owner is aging ten times faster than all other people do."  
"Nik, how could the carpet be stolen out of the mosque?", asked Myka.  
"I don´t know," he admitted.  
"Do you have any idea who might have done this?"  
"No," Nik went to an old desk and searched a letter, "That's what the thief left behind."  
Myka unfolded the letter. "This is Arabic," she said, "I speak Arabic, but I can´t read it." She handed the paper to Nik. "Can you read this?"  
"No, but I have an artifact which translated it. The letter says, that the thief had to steal the carpet in order to secure his livelihood. The letter is almost a kind of apology..."  
"So we should look for someone who has recently come to great wealth," Myka suggested.

"Claudia, I need your help," Steve sounded desperate when he met his best friend in the evening in Arties office. She was on her way to Pete, who was working on an important project.  
"I am Myka's secret elf. What do you think of my gift?", He showed her two tickets to the Ice Cross Downhill Championship, which took place in Canada end of the month.  
"This is terrible," Claudia folded her arms across the chest, " I don´t think Myka would like that." In addition, Myka needed to find someone who took care of the baby. Claudia had seen a TV report about the championship and she knew how rough this sport was. She also wondered where the tickets came from.  
"Look, I'll make a suggestion you can´t refuse", she led him away from Pete and put an arm around his shoulders, "I am Lindsay secret elf. Let´s swap."  
"And you think Lindsay likes the Ice Cross Downhill championship?"  
"No," Claudia's answer was short, "We shouldn´t swap. I've ordered a Victoria´s Secret perfume for Lindsay this morning. You should think about what would be a good gift for Myka..." She was relieved when Steve promised to look for a different gift and went to Pete, who was sitting in office at Artie's desk.  
"Hey," she greeted him and sat down on the couch, "What are you doing?"  
"I create a list of artifacts, which were last seen in the Middle East. Maybe our team can bring even one or another valuable piece... What about you? Shouldn´t you be using Gordon Ramsey pan and mutate into a super cook, to bake us a couple of Christmas cookies?"  
"No, the pan is the source of his legendary outburst, if you have not forgotten that." Claudia had to admit it was a good idea to create a list of artifacts that had been sighted recently in the Middle East. "Tell Connor, Lindsay and Myka, they should bring the carpet. If you really become so incredibly rich, then all our problems are solved."  
Pete smiled. "Yes, I've thought of that, too."  
"Is Zelda here?"  
"Yes."  
This response astonished Claudia, because the cradle in which the baby always was when they brought it to the warehouse was empty.  
"And where is Zelda?"  
"In her cradle," Pete replied without looking up from his computer.  
"No, she´s not."  
"What?" Only now he got up and his heart skipped a beat when he saw the empty cradle.

They realized Nik had to think for a moment. "To be honest, I know someone who has recently come to a lot of money," he confessed, "My colleague Yash. It wasn´t suspicious because he told he has won the Indian lottery." He had to have found out that the carpet was an artifact. An artifact, which had been practically lying under their noses the whole time.  
"When was that?", Connor asked.  
"He quit his job two days ago."  
"The carpet was stolen two days ago... Nik, where is your co-worker now?"

Together with Steve and Claudia, Pete was searching for his daughter. He was very worried because the baby could be virtually anywhere.  
"We need to find Zelda", Pete said, "Myka will kill me if she finds out."  
"What happens in the Warehouse, stays in the Warehouse," Steve tried to calm him, "Claudia and I won´t tell her."  
"I swear," Claudia raised a hand ceremoniously, then she began to cry out for the little girl.  
"Zelda is a four-month-old infant," Steve reminded her, "She can´t answer."  
Claudia thought she could still try again.  
A rattling noise caught her attention. Dancing lights came from a corridor.  
"Is this some kind of snow?", Steve asked. Claudia and Pete denied. They hurried to reach the corridor, where they camped religious artifacts. Even more lights danced in the air. They were accompanied by a gentle ringing.  
"What is that? Is this an artifact?"  
"Not that I know," Pete answered. They entered the hall and saw Zelda, who was in a kind of wooden crib.  
"This is the crib of Bethlehem," Claudia said.  
Pete noticed that the dancing lights were directly over the crib. "Claudia, what's going on here?" He looked at the red-haired woman, because he hoped she as manager of the warehouse knew the answer.  
Zelda giggled when she saw the dancing lights.  
"Do you remember you once said Zelda would grow up in the Warehouse and maybe one day she would replace you and Myka?" Claudia wanted to know, "It was a joke back then. But I think the Warehouse has chosen who will be my successor."  
"Are you serious?" Steve's voice sounded incredulous.  
"Yes."  
Pete lifted Zelda out of the crib.  
"The Warehouse protects Zelda," the young woman added.  
"Will we Myka tell about it?"  
"I don´t know. You're her dad", Claudia said," You decide."

Niks Co- worker Yash lived very modest, but when they showed up at his apartment on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi, his ex- roommate told that Yash had moved out two days ago. The young Indian woman handed them a slip of paper on which she had listed Yashs new address.  
"This is not a house that is a castle," remarked Lindsay when she got out and left the rental car behind at the opposite side of the road. The house was small, but it had an impressive marble dome on the roof.  
They decided they didn´t ring the bell, and thus announcing their arrival. Instead, Connor drew a tool out of his pocket, which he wanted to use to unlock the door. "If it doesn´t work, you can also use your Tesla", Lindsay suggested.  
"I never expected that we need to creak a door," Connor said, the door lock creaked and they could enter.  
Yash actually lived in a small palace, Nik realized. "Where could the carpet be?", he wondered. He couldn´t imagine that his colleague would hide this carpet in his house.  
"What are you doing here?" A voice suddenly said to them, "Who are you?"  
"Yash...!", Nik stood before the group, "Return the carpet. You steal from this country."  
"This country is rich enough."  
"Yash, give me the artifact. We need to report to the Council, otherwise."  
"Never," Yash pulled a Tesla from his pocket and fired in their direction. They shared into two groups in the last moment. Myka and Lindsay fled behind a marble pillar and also grabbed their Teslas. They fired on Yash. The double amount of energy dropped him to the ground, unconscious.  
"We should search for the carpet," Nik said, "I take the upper floor, you take the cellar."  
"Fine," she nodded in agreement and Nik left the three at the entrance hall of the villa.  
"Can we trust him?", Lindsay asked suspiciously while Nik hastily walked up the marble staircase.  
They didn´t notice that Yash was wake again and crawled on all fours on the floor. "My carpet...", he muttered and reached out for a tapestry, who seemed to be quite thick.  
He put his hand on the carpet and immediately his hand turned into gold.  
"We need to neutralize the artifact!", Myka cried and pulled a spray bottle from Lindsay's bag.  
They neutralized the carpet with sauce. The purple liquid ruined the fine fabric with certainty, Myka thought.  
Yash began to howl and when his hand had reconverted he ran away, hysterically weeping. "Let him go," Connor decided "He will have to explain for his actions before the council. That is punishment enough."  
"What do we do now?", Myka asked, "How do we get the carpet into the Warehouse?"  
"The belt" Connor recalled. Lindsay was looking in her purse for Ian Flemming's belt. The two rolled up the carpet and strangled it with a belt. "You have to think to the Warehouse," Connor said to her, "And then you have to let go in time."  
Lindsay grabbed the belt, thought of the Warehouse in South Dakota and when the carpet dissolved, she let go.  
"Does it work?", asked Lindsay.  
"Yes, but it will destroy the belt."  
They heard a voice calling after them and came closer. It was Nik, who now ran down the marble stairs in a hurry. "What happened?", he asked, "Did you find the carpet?"  
"It disappeared without a trace," Myka answered and calmed herself with the fact it wasn´t even a lie.  
"Nik, we should make sure that a replica of the carpet will be brought to the mosque soon..."  
"Why don´t we simply look for it?"  
"I am convinced the carpet is destroyed..."  
"That's terrible…"  
"What would you suggest, if you have five hours before the plane leaves?", Connor asked, "A desert safari or a city tour?"

"Are you sure this is the right aircraft?", Claudia asked a little uncertainly, when she, Pete and Zelda were standing in the waiting area of the airport.  
"Sure, that's the only plane who arrives from Dubai today." Once Pete had said this, a figure showed up behind the barrier, waving at them. Myka overcame the barrier and hugged Pete happy. Then she took Zelda on her arm. The baby laughed when she saw her mother. "How was it?", Myka wanted to know.  
"We are very well together." Pete looked at Zelda lovingly, but then Myka noticed Claudia worried face. "What's wrong?"  
"There is news," Pete began. He knew he had to tell her. "While you weren´t here, the Warehouse has chosen a successor for Claudia, for the event that something happens to her in the distant future..."  
"And?" She put her hand on her hips.  
"Myka, it's Zelda."  
"Zelda is the future manager of the Warehouse?" Myka repeated incredulously.  
"Yes, as I said, the Warehouse itself has chosen..."  
"When did you want to tell me that?!"  
"Actually, never, but you need to know. You're her mother."  
Myka nodded. Tears welled up in her eyes and she had to embrace Pete. Claudia told her she didn´t have to cry because she was sure Zelda would still lead a good life.  
"And how was it in the Emirates?", Claudia asked now.  
"It's so cold here," Myka laughed. She was cold now, because in Abu Dhabi the temperatures were warm and cozy.  
Now Connor and Lindsay came through the barrier. "We have bad news for you," Lindsay began. "Ian Flemming's belt is destroyed."  
"What?", Claudia´s jaw almost dropped, "How?"  
They told her the whole story, which is that the artifact had been destroyed when they tried to save the most expensive carpet in the world.  
"We had no choice," Myka completed the report.  
"Let's go to our car. We still have a very long journey to go home." There were more than 200 miles, to be exact.  
"What's that?", Pete asked. He had noticed the animal transport box which was wrapped like a shoulder bag around Myka´s torso.  
"That's a cat," she replied.  
"I see."  
"The cat was at our side since Abu Dhabi. Do you know the saying, cats chose their owners?"  
"I've ever heard of that", the two continued discussing as they walked hand in hand through the airport. Connor took Lindsay's suitcase and pulled it to the car for her.

"Merry Christmas to all of you," Claudia said the next morning, when they sat in the living room in front of the Christmas tree, still wearing pyjamas. "Guys, where is my gift?"  
They knew that Claudia was very impatient. "Then let's start", Connor decided. He turned around and grabbed an elongated box, which was wrapped in red wrapping paper. "This is from me to you. I'm your secret elves."  
"Wow," Claudia took the packet and realized how heavy it was. "Can I open it?", She asked but didn´t wait for an answer. What emerged was a guitar. "That's pretty cool."  
"Thank you. Treat it well. This was my first guitar."  
Claudia had to admit she didn´t know Connor could play guitar and while she invited him to a jam session, Myka gave a gift to Pete. "That's the cat out from Abu Dhabi," he remarked, Myka had tied a red ribbon around the neck of the tabby Cat.  
"I know. And I also know how much you like cats and that you couldn´t own one as a child because your sister has an allergy... Moreover Artie took our Warehouse- pet to Australia..."  
"Thanks, that's very nice of you." Pete leaned to Myka and kissed her.  
"It must be nice to be in love," Claudia noted "That reminds me, I have never asked our newcomers how you two became a couple."  
"At work," said Lindsay, "We have realized years later that we are in love."  
Claudia wanted to know exactly what had happened and so Lindsay told how she and Connor wanted to fly back from a case in Argentina. When the plane took off, the pilot quickly realized something was wrong: The undercarriage of the aircraft got stuck and couldn´t be move back. The pilot radioed the tower and those presented (due to the defective landing gear the pilot wanted to land on departure Airport), that the front landing gear wasn´t only stuck, the tire was rotated by 45 degrees. The plane remained almost 3 hours in the air and circled over the Argentine Airport. Then the pilot was preparing all to an emergency landing. Lindsay said she could still remember how afraid she was, even though she was a frequent flyer and had already experienced one or other turbulence.  
After three hours the emergency landing began. The whole plane shook, as if it would break apart at any moment. The smell of burnt tires rose up in the cabin, while Connor and Lindsay put their hands on the front seats. After an eternity, the plane came to a stop on the runway (The news later reported that the tire was ground down to a half: The concrete runway was like sandpaper on the chassis). All people on board were clapping. Connor and Lindsay, who sat next to each other, embraced happily. Then Connor use the opportunity and kissed her.  
"That's very sweet," Claudia said, "Who now gets the next present?"  
"Steve, I'm your secret elf," Lindsay said, handing him a blue box, while Claudia passed a gift to Lindsay...

"Did you know that the magic carpet of the Sheikh Zayed Mosque is also able to fly in neutralized state?", Pete asked Myka, when he led her in the Warehouse this evening. Zelda was already asleep, Claudia and Steve watched a Christmas movie on TV and Connor and Lindsay wanted to be alone, too.  
"This is by far the largest flying carpet that I've ever seen," said Myka.  
Pete led her into the corridor where the carpet was stowed. He pulled the expensive piece off the shelf and began to unroll it.  
"What are you doing?", Myka stopped him.  
"I thought we take a scenic flight with the carpet. Just you and me", Pete suggested and when he saw that Myka folded her arms across the chest and shook her head disapprovingly, he added: "Come on, that's romantic."  
"All right," she gave in. Basically, she liked the idea. Even today, she was amazed at how mature her childish husband sometimes could behave.  
"Oh no", suddenly another voice said. Connor and Lindsay appeared in the same corridor, holding hands. "Apparently Pete had the same idea as you," Lindsay said.  
"And now?"

Fin


End file.
